Elizabeth Jackson and the Veil's Destruction
by bfalt1
Summary: (Book 4 of 5) The war with the demititans is going full force and Elizabeth is right in the thick of it. Elizabeth finally has a chance to lead the mission that she's been planning for months, which could bring the demigods a big victory. But unbeknownst to Elizabeth, this victory comes with a huge cost, one which will send her whole world spiralling... (full sum inside).
1. Chapter 1: That Went Well Right?

**AN: Hey guys! So I know it's a day late, but here I am with the fourth book in the Elizabeth Jackson series. WOW! For those of you who are new to my series, I would advise that you go back and... you know... read the first three, because otherwise you will have no clue what is going on. Before I go on with anything else, here's a full summary of this story.**

The war with the demititans is going full force and Elizabeth is right in the thick of it. Elizabeth finally has a chance to lead the mission that she's been planning for months, which could bring the demigods a big victory. But unbeknownst to Elizabeth, this victory comes with a huge cost, one which will send her whole world spiralling out of control. Yet the biggest battle of the war so far is quickly approaching, and Elizabeth needs to be on her top game. Can she manage that, though, when everything in her life seems to be falling apart? With everything going on, the stakes have never been higher for Elizabeth and the gang.

 **Oh boy! That's exciting! Now typically, I will respond to reviews I've gotten on the previous chapter at the beginning of each chapter, but this time, I will be responding to reviews from my Elizabeth Jackson one-shot collection and the last reviews I got on the third book at the bottom of this chapter, so stick around if you want to read those review responses.**

 **Only a couple more items of business, and then we'll get into the chapter! I want to thank all of you very dearly for reading this series. I've really enjoyed seeing how much you guys are enjoying these stories, and I'm very happy that I'm getting to share these stories with all you guys. I wouldn't have made it this far without all of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.**

 **And lastly, you probably want to know what my upload schedule is going to be. I will be planning on uploading twice a week, as usual, with uploads on Tuesdays and Fridays, unless something comes up irl. I will, of course, update you guys on that if I can't post something as planned.**

 **ALRIGHT, I think that's it. I hope you guys are excited, because I am super excited to share this with you. DFTBA!**

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 **Rating: T for language, violence, gruesome images, and some suggestive elements.**

 **Disclaimer: Not Rick Riordan. Only time I'm doing this for this book.**

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Elizabeth Jackson and the Veil's Destruction

Chapter 1: That Went Well… Right?

"We're coming up on the bus now," Jake said from the passenger's seat of the camp van. I looked ahead, seeing our target: a Greyhound bus, carrying a very valuable demititan passenger. The hulking son of Hephaestus was fiddling with a tablet in his hands, making adjustments on a program. "Shit," he mumbled to himself, running a hand through his slightly curly brown hair, "I'm not ready yet."

Theo, standing next to me behind the passenger and driver seats, touched Jake's arm. "Calm down," Theo said serenely. "I can't make the shot from here anyway. You've got some time." Theo was surprisingly calm, considering what we were about to do. He wasn't jittering nervously and he wasn't running his hand obsessively over his buzzed hair. In the hand that wasn't rested on Jake's arm, he was holding a strange looking arrow; rather than a point, there was a thick cylinder. It was a radio transmitter arrow Jake made specifically for this mission.

"Besides," Jocelyn said from the driver's seat, "we're not in a huge rush. According to our intel, that bus won't be getting off the highway for another twenty miles. I can hang back until we're ready."

"Speak for yourself about the rush thing," I grumbled. "I have to pick up Hannah Zhang from the airport."

Jocelyn glanced at me, smirking, and for some reason my heart starting beating a bit faster. I'd been noticing that happening around her recently. It was pretty annoying. "Well maybe you should have thought about this mission before you told your parents you could pick her up, Lizzie."

"Yeah, because I thought the mission was going to be today," I shot back. "If you couldn't tell by the bags under my eyes, I had a final exam today."

"Does that explain your tangled hair?" Jocelyn asked. "I mean honestly, with your hair that short, how can you afford to leave your hair so messy?"

I looked self-consciously in the rear-view mirror. My black hair, which had been shorn off by an axe blade the previous summer, was still quite short. Long enough that I could keep it in a small ponytail, but not very long at all. But the shortness made my hair frizz horribly. I frowned at my reflection. The frizziness was definitely worse than usually. I wished I had a brush with me, but I was travelling light for this mission. Just the clothes on my back, including my trusty leather jacket and matching right glove, and my sword, Marianas, strapped to my waist.

"I'll have the program ready to go in less than two minutes," Jake said, snapping me back to reality. "You should run through the plan with everyone one more time."

"Right," I said, nodding. I turned around, facing the rest of the van. We'd removed the seating in order to fit more people; my troops for this mission. Well, technically they were Jocelyn's troops, since only counselors could lead a mission (quests were different, it was very confusing), but in reality, I was the one in charge. I had developed our plan. So the mission was really mine, and the others who'd volunteered were looking to me for leadership.

We had ten others with us, in addition to Theo, Jocelyn, Jake, and I. First there was Dan Ocker, the son of Hades. He stood next to the sliding door, his arms crossed. His skin was even paler than usual, which was saying something, since his skin was constantly deathly pale. He was tapping his foot nervously. From his belt hung his two standard weapons: a single-handed axe and a short sword. James, the son of Nike, and my cabin-mate Katherine's boyfriend, stood in the middle of the van, holding onto an overhead strap for balance. His red hair was messy from running his other hand through it. The rest of the crew was obviously pretty nervous too. Jocelyn's half-brother, Donny, was checking the safety of his hunting rifle obsessively and shaking his long black hair out of his face (which was, annoyingly, longer than my own). Trisha, one of James's siblings from Nike, was rapping her collapsible spear against the wall of the van. She'd pulled her dyed blue hair into a bun so tight it _had_ to be uncomfortable. Jake's younger sister, Cecelia, who was taller than me despite the fact that I was sixteen and she was only thirteen, was shifting from foot to foot.

And of course, all of Theo's siblings were acting extra nervous. Which made sense, because they were arguably _the_ key to this whole operation. Tina and Leah, twin sisters who'd only just arrived at Camp Half-Blood a month ago, were both checking their bowstrings excessively. Even though they were new, they were already camp's best archers – even better than Theo, who had long held the position of Camp Half-Blood's best archer. I just hoped that their skills held up under pressure. Danielle, who typically spent more time in designer clothes than in the leather armor she was wearing now, was inspecting each individual arrow. For the third time. Wade, who was normally the last person to take things seriously, was tapping his fingers up against the wall of the van in an intricate pattern. Even Jasper, a long-time veteran of Camp Half-Blood and Theo's number two for the Apollo cabin, seemed nervous.

I took a deep breath. My team was anxious. And so was I. This was a big mission, after all. If we succeeded, this could be the turning point in our ongoing war against the demititans. But if we failed… well, I didn't want to think too much about that. The fact was, everyone needed to get motivated, and as mission leader, it was my job to do so. I closed my eyes briefly to collect my thoughts.

I opened my eyes. "Alright guys, listen up. It's go time. After all of our preparation, it's finally time to execute our plan. Success today means we can bring this awful war to an end _much_ quicker. And I have the utmost confidence in this plan, and in all of us. We've practiced each step time and again. Now let's put it all together and do this thing!"

Everyone cheered. I nodded to myself. Good. Motivation part done. "All that being said," I went on, "let's run through the plan one last time, just to make sure everyone is on the same page. In just a moment, we will pull up close to that bus. While we're still behind it, we're going to roll down the window and Theo will fire his radio transmitter arrow. Once the arrow has magnetized to the bus, the software in Jake's tablet will automatically hack in and allow Jake to take over control of driving the bus."

"That part is important," Jake said. "Because once shit starts going down, the last thing the driver will be able to do is control the bus. So we can't move on to the next part until my tablet has fully connected."

"Right," I said. "So we'll wait for Jake's go ahead for the next part of the plan. Theo, you want to run through that part again?"

"Uh, sure," he said. He cleared his throat, then continued, "After Jake has control of the bus, Jocelyn will pull us alongside it. At that point, if you aren't already holding onto one of the overhead straps, you're going to need to. Dan, since you're standing closest to the door, it'll be your job to open it, alright?"

"Roger that," Dan said.

"So when we pull up alongside, Dan will open the door," Theo went on. "At that point, Leah, Tina, and Wade will shoot explosive arrows across and blow a hole in the side of the bus. While they're doing that, Danielle, Jasper, and I will set up the anchors for zipline arrows. Once the hole is open, Danielle, Jasper, and I will shoot our lines across through the hole."

"Once the zip line is established," I went on, "we need to start getting people across immediately. The monsters and demititans inside will probably be disoriented right after the explosion. We need to take advantage of that before they can get organized."

"No to mention the fact that if we come up on some traffic, you guys are S.O.L. if you aren't across," Jocelyn said from the front.

"Right, that too," I said. "Now remember, we'll be outnumbered, but since we'll have the element of surprise, it'll go a long way to helping us out. We need to press our advantage. Kill the monsters quickly. Do whatever you need to to incapacitate the demititans. But above all, make sure that we capture our target intact."

I pulled out my phone and brought up a picture of our target. The image showed a guy with a scarecrow figure dress in a slim suit with a wedge of brown hair and black eyes. Marcus, the son of Prometheus. He was third in command of the entire demititan organization, and one of Gaius's most trusted advisors. I passed around the phone, making sure that everyone got reminded of how he looked.

Capturing Marcus. It was a plan that Jocelyn, Theo, and I had hatched last summer, and now it was coming to fruition. If we succeeded, we could turn the tide against the son of Kronos. Marcus surely had a gold mine of information, if we could just get it out of him. And I desperately wanted to do that. I clenched my robotic right fist, almost subconsciously. Gaius had cost me so much; my arm, my mental and emotional health, and, indirectly, my friend Thalia. I was going to make him pay for it all.

Dan handed me back my phone. At that moment, Jake exclaimed, "Ah ha! I got the program ready to go!"

I looked at everyone. "Alright guys. We've got this. Today we gain the advantage that will bring this war to an end! Is everyone ready?" My teammates cheered. "Let's do this!" Jocelyn slammed her foot on the gas pedal. We shot towards the bus up ahead. Theo notched the radio transmitter arrow. Dan rolled down the widow. Theo leaned out, drawing back his bow. Wind blew in, ripping at my jacket and making my already messy hair worse. I didn't even know why I cared. My eyes flickered forward to Jocelyn, then back to Theo.

He let loose the arrow. I don't know how he managed to make the shot, but he did. The transmitter arrow latched onto the bus. The pulled himself back in through the window and immediately started stringing his zipline arrow. Jocelyn swung the van out into the left lane and sped up even more, pulling us up alongside the bus. We were next to the back set of windows. Dan opened the door. The wind whipped through even harder. James and Donny bumped into each other.

Leah, Tina, and Wade notched their explosive arrows. They aimed forward, accounting for the wind, then let loose. I braced myself against Jocelyn's headrest. The arrows hit the side of the bus and… BOOM! The sound of glass shattering and metal ripping combined with the sound of the explosion itself. The whole van shook. Broken glass had sprayed into our van. The smoke started to clear, revealing a big hole in the side of the bus. Monsters and demititans scrambled away from the hole. Leah, Tina, and Wade were already firing regular arrows to keep them back while we set up our zipline.

Speaking of which, Theo, Danielle, and Jasper let their arrows fly. The ends latched onto the opposite wall of the bus. Our vehicles were now anchored together. "Move!" I shouted. Dan, James, and Trisha grabbed the black pieces that latched onto the line and zipped across. They crash landed on the other side, drew their weapons, and went to town on the monsters. With people actually across, Leah, Tina, and Wade stopped providing covering fire. Wade went across next with Donny and Cecelia. Danielle went across with Leah and Tina, both of whom looked sick, but still managed to get across safely. Theo, Jasper, and I were last. But before we could…

"Shit!" Jocelyn cursed. I looked ahead. We were fast approaching another car, one that was moving a lot slower than us. Time seemed to slow as my brain processed the information at light speed. Rear ending that car would be disastrous. Jocelyn was going to have to brake now. There wasn't time to zip line across, which meant…

"No time!" I shouted, time returning to normal. "Jump!"

Theo and Jasper got my message. We leaped from the van door just as Jocelyn slammed on the brakes. The zipline wires were yanked from the bus and whipped past our faces while we were still in midair. I felt weightless, the wind tugging at me, the road flashing by underneath. I had a moment of absolute terror, then – CRASH! Theo, Jasper, and I tumbled to the floor of the bus. I heard ringing in my ears. An arrow whizzed past my face. I was completely disoriented. I must have hit my head on impact or something…

Theo grabbed me and dragged me behind a row of seats just in front of the hole in the bus. My sense of sound came back. "You okay?" Theo asked.

I breathed deeply, running a quick check to make sure that everything felt okay. "I'm good," I said. I looked at Theo, determined. Theo frowned, a shadow passing over his face like he's seen a ghost. "Are you okay?" I asked, worried. I really didn't want my friend injured.

"I'm fine," Theo mumbled. "Déjà vu is all. Let's do this." I nodded, drew my sword, then dove around the seat to enter the fray. Theo fired his arrow, killing a dracaena a couple rows ahead. I slashed through two Empousai who had been trying to cast a spell then whirled around and blocked a strike from a demititan. We exchanged blows for a few seconds, the fighting cramped in the bus. I ducked under a strike, and my opponent sliced the headrest off one of the seats. I slammed my hilt into the side of the guy's head, making him fall back, unconscious.

I turned, killing a dracaena. Towards the back, Theo and his siblings launched volley after volley of arrows at the enemy. Donny was with them, picking off monsters with his rifle. Trisha and James were standing on top of seats, perfectly balanced, and bashing demititans over the heads with their weapons. Cecelia and Dan were both a couple more rows ahead of me, fighting in _very_ close quarters.

Way towards the front of the bus, I saw the very top of Marcus's head as he peeked around the seats he was hiding behind. My vision tunneled. I charged forwards, past where Trisha and James were fighting. I elbowed a demititan with my metal arm as I charged up the center aisle. I sped past a row, a demititan popping out to get me. I turned and kicked her in the chest. She slammed against the window, dazed. Soon I was level with Dan and Cecelia, who were back to back in the aisle, each fighting an armored demititan.

"Hey Elizabeth," Dan panted. "Good day for it. Wanna lend a hand?"

That's exactly what I did. I jumped sideways into the aisle behind the demititan Dan was fighting and slammed the flat of my blade across his face. I climbed over the seat and the dazed enemy as Dan turned to help Cecelia. I jumped back into the aisle. Three dracaena were now all that remained between me and Marcus. Three arrows shot past me, destroying the monsters. I smiled. Excellent. I stepped forward, past the last row of seats and…

There he was. Marcus was up against the window. He wore a checked gray suit. He smiled at me, his black eyes glittering. "Hey, Elizabeth," he said. "Long time no –"

I interrupted him by yanking him to his feet by his tie. He made a choking noise. "Sorry, I didn't catch that," I said coldly. "You want to try that again?" He coughed, trying to speak. I shrugged. "Guess we'll have to try again later." I threw him up against the window, then knocked him over the head with my sword for good measure. He collapsed, out cold. I cracked my neck. "That felt good."

Suddenly, Theo was at my shoulder, throwing his bow over his shoulder. "Looks like we're done here." I turned and looked at the rest of the bus. All the monsters were dead, piles of glittering dust littering the floor. Most of the demititans were unconscious, but those that weren't were laying down their weapons, placing their hands on their heads. Donny had pulled out rope and was tying up our new prisoners. "We did it, Elizabeth," Theo continued. "We completed the mission." He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. "Nice work!"

I nodded, but for some reason I didn't _feel_ as excited as I thought I should be. I turned back to Marcus's unconscious form as Theo pulled out his phone to let Jocelyn and Jake know we were done. I rifled through Marcus's pockets. I scrunched my eyebrows together. "That's weird," I muttered.

"What's weird?" Dan asked, coming up to me.

I looked up at him, his face flushed with triumph. I didn't want to ruin his anyone's good mood just because I had noticed something sort of… odd. "It's nothing," I lied. "Just uh… I guess it still hasn't hit me that we succeeded. That's all."

"I get it," Dan said. "But relax. We did it! We're going to start turning things around now. I feel it."

"Yeah," I said absently. "Yeah, maybe." But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"…yep, see you in a second," Theo said, hanging up the phone. The bus lurched sideways onto an exit ramp. Theo turned to me. "We're getting off here."

I blinked. "Really? I couldn't tell by the fact that the bus was getting off the highway."

Theo frowned. "Oh. Right."

I chuckled weakly, standing back up. "Sorry, Theo. I gotta pick on you every chance I get."

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The bus pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned supermarket, the van parking next to us. I got out, walking back towards the van. Jake and Jocelyn climbed out, grinning and whooping. "Went off without a hitch!" Jake exclaimed.

"Not so hot now, are you, demititans?" Jocelyn called over to the bus.

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to feel as psyched out as everyone else. They were right to be so excited. The operation we'd been planning for months had gone so well, yet I couldn't bring myself to be pleased. I just had the feeling that _something_ was wrong. Still, I forced myself to smile. "Yeah, we did good work."

From the bus, Dan and Theo strolled over, dragging the unconscious Marcus between them. Theo and Jake kissed quickly, then – oh yeah. Theo and Jake were dating now. Finally. Took them long enough to figure out that they liked each other.

Anyway, Dan turned to me and said, "The demititans in there are all tied up, but there's no way that we're fitting all of them in the camp van."

"That's okay," Jake said. "I can drive the bus back. I could use the material for some of my projects, anyway."

"And I'll keep driving the van," Jocelyn said. "That works well. Lizzie –"

"I feel like you're calling me that more often," I interrupted. "Not a fan."

"– you said you have to go back to the City and pick up Hannah Zhang from the airport anyway, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "My stuff for camp is still at home, too."

"Cool," Jocelyn said. "I'll drop you back off at your school on the way back. Your car is there, right?" I nodded. Jocelyn turned to Theo. "You coming with us?"

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"And bring Marcus," I said on an impulse. "If he comes to before you guys drop me off, I'd like to get first crack at the bastard."

"Alright!" Jocelyn said. "Road trip with the original gang – plus one piece of garbage."

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 **AN: Alright that's chapter 1. I hope you guys enjoyed it. You won't have to wait long for the next one either, since that'll be on Friday. Before I go, I'll respond to reviews from Elizabeth Jackson One-Shots and Elizabeth Jackson and the Magician's Maze that I haven't responded to yet.**

 **First I'll do the ones from Elizabeth Jackson One-Shots. From Person: "** **Awww, sibling love. Cute and I love it. I really want to read book 4. From the tidbits of the Theo short, the one-short before book 1, and the summary I can't wait!"  
A: Well your wait is over!**

 **From Unicute17: "Agh If I have to wait one more minute for book four to come out I am going to EXPLODE"  
A: I hope you didn't explode**

 **From cghe: "Is it like the Triumvirate Holdings thing again? Are you going to borrow ideas from Trials of Apollo, or is it something different entirely?"  
A: It's something entirely different. But don't expect answers on that for a LONG time.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Oh gods! I dunno what to type! Alot seem to be happening both in the one-shot and in book 3."  
A: A lot to think about! I hope you don't worry yourself too much thinking about it.**

 **From SilverAngelo: "CAN YOU DO A FAMILY TREE, PLEASE!? Including the demititans?"  
A: That's not a bad idea.**

 **Also from SilverAngelo: "ITS JUNE 14TH AND I WANNA HAVE A NEW BOOK TO READ SO I CAN COMPARE AWESOMENESS LEVELS WITH THE OTHERS BOOKS! PS: THIS IS HIGH ON THE AWESOMENESS LEVELS LIST. IT IS."  
A: Well thank you so much for the compliment!**

 **From the-only-soldier-left: "A "thing" happens, huh? Well, at least we'll know what you're talkin' about soon!"  
A: You will know soon. Next chapter, in fact.**

 **Now for Magician's Maze reviews. From Shiroji IA: "THALIAAAAA *creys*** **But anyways, once again I AM FRIGGIN ASTOUNDED WITH HOW WELL YOU WRITE. You're so awesome.** **I LOVE YOU. (like srsly you're one of the authors I look up to *beams*)"  
A: Well thank you so much! That means a lot to me.**

 **Another from Shiroji IA: "The one thing I'm sad with though (except Thalia) is the AugustusXElizabeth break up D: Please please please please tell me that they're getting back together. I ship them SO HARD gah.** **I also totally love Matt as well and would like to read a oneshot about him *feels giddy*** **Anyway yeah. XD"  
A: I'm sorry you're sad :(, but I promise I do everything for a reason. And yeah, I really like writing Matt, too. I'd like to write more with Matt, so I probably will.**

 **From TheImpalaLover: "I usually don't cry even at the saddest things but once you get attached to some sort of character in a book or movie it really hurts when they are killed off. I know that it had to be done and I understand but it still makes me sad. Only the best books and movies will make me cry and you succeeded. I really want this to continue and once this series is finished I will go and reread it all over again. Because I haven't posted a review while getting caught up in the series I hope this makes up for it. Thank you for taking time out of your day to make each chapter."  
A: Thank YOU for reading and for leaving such a wonderful review. I really appreciate it. And I'm very touched that my writing was able to move you so much. I hope you continue to enjoy the series :)**

 **Also from TheImpalaLover: "I'm glad I'm caught up but at the same time I am not. I know how much you like cliffhangers and now I will have to wait to find out what happens afterwards."  
A: Haha, yeah I really do enjoy cliffhangers XD I'm such a troll.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "The pegasi-bending-space thing was a violation of the null energy condition, but it's fiction and I guess that making a whirlpool with your head qualifies as such too, lol.** **BTW in the line "chemistry I was reading between Matt and Sierra" - I think you meant "Amy", not Sierra."  
A: Yeah. Plus I'm pretty sure the pegasi thing in the RR books. And nice catch on the typo.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "BTW, Julius Caesar could not have been a member of the 12th legion. If I understand correctly, the "1st legion", "2nd legion", etc. are differentiated by time period, (as in 6th legion might've been from 800CE while the 12th legion is from 2000AD). The segments of the legion are the cohorts."  
A: Actually, I did quite a bit of research and Julius Caesar actually was part of the 12th Legion. I'm not sure where you learned the legions by year thing, but that's at least not entirely accurate. Maybe it started that way in the early days of the Republic, but that changed as their Empire grew?**

 **From UtilitarianShank again: "I'd been wondering if there was any connection of Nero here to Nero's appearance in the Trials of Apollo.** **Also, I kinda wish Hylla had gotten at least half of the punishment Nero got, keeping slaves and all. She didn't own gladiators, to her credit."  
A: Funny enough, I put Nero in the book before Trials of Apollo came out. I had no clue he would be in that book. And you don't seem to like Hylla much.**

 **And one last one from UtilitarianShank: "I'm going to admit I was hoping Jocelyn (or Theo, but that didn't seem likely, for some reason) would die. Thalia was one of the best characters of PJO - in fact, I'd found the entire Hunters club to be an annoying bore until she'd joined them."  
A: I'm sorry to have killed off one of your favorite characters, but I hope you continue to enjoy the series, anyway!**

 **Alright, that's all from me. I will see you guys on Friday with chapter 2.**


	2. Chapter 2: I Destroy a Mirror

**AN: Hey guys! I'm back with the next chapter as promised. I want to thank all of you for the support I'm already seeing after only one chapter! It really does mean a lot to me. Now, before we get going, let's do some review responses.**

 **First from TheImpalaLover: "** **This chapter really made my day. At school I found out my best friend was moving and I really needed something to get my mind off of it and then when I saw that the first chapter was posted I started reading with a smile on my face. Once again I'd like to thank you for taking your time to make these awesome chapters."  
A: Well I'm happy I could take your mind off of it, though I am sorry about your friend moving. That's no fun.**

 **From SilverAngelo: "OMG OMG OMG OMG THIS IS SO HIGH ON THE AWESOMNESS LEVEL SCALE THAT I THINK ITS BROKEN AND OMG I THINK ITS TOTALLY BEATING ALL THE OTHERS, AND I WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT! GAGH, IM JUST FANGIRLING ALL OVER THE PLACE RIGHT NOW AND I CANT WAIT FOR CHAPTER 2! The family tree is just so confusing because there are so many new people in this chapter that got introduced, I literally had to go back and reread who they were to get a good idea. And, since Gus and Liz aren't together anymore, can we do a DanXLiz? That might be cool! Elizan! I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE BOOK 4 THAT IM GONNA EXPLODE, IVE WAITED SO LONG! *Litterally EXPLODES*"  
A: Wow. That's pretty intense excitement! Yeah, the new people in the chapter are just more campers. You'll see them around, but don't worry, you won't have to remember them too specifically. As for Elizabeth's love life, you'll have to wait and see how that develops.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "Hurray for the fourth book, and their mission seems to be going well so far - not to mention that they have more than 1 demititan captured."  
A: It certainly seems like things are going well so far, but don't expect their good luck to hold out.**

 **Also from UtilitarianShank: "You're right regarding the 12th legion - I think I was confused due to Jason's bid to rename the twelfth legion as the first legion."  
A: Yeah, that makes sense.**

 **From RockRoy: "Of course something is wrong, it was a bit too easy. Haven't our legacies and demigods learned that by now? Knuckleheads... "  
A: I know, you'd think they'd learn.**

 **From Person: "Great chapter. Okay, I don't know why, but I have this itchy feeling the Elizabeth's parents are kidnapped or something to that effect. Then I keep thinking, 'why would she/he do that? I know I would, but he/she's not me. This isn't your story so you can't control it...' ect. But I still can't shake the feeling off. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh I need help! I NEED CHAPTER TWO to help me combat this itchy feeling. I'm right, right? "  
A: You're about to find out.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Finally Theo and Jake! and have you listened to/watched Nico's lullaby & the SuperCarlinBrothers?"  
A: I know! Took them long enough... And yes. I enjoyed both, thank you for the recommendation!**

 **From cghe: "I feel like there is no way that this plan is going to work in real life? Since both buses are moving? Also, they are on the highway, so I don't understand how you could zipline to another bus.** **If Jake could control the van, then why did they continue to move the van? Just like, park over in some designated spot and start to attack shit and stuff, right?"  
A: I have two answers to this. One in-universe explanation and one out-of-universe explanation. For the in-universe one, I do think it would be possible, assuming that timing was perfect and the two vehicles were moving the same speed. And they decided to do that instead of having Jake pull the bus over because that would've alerted the demititans and monsters on the bus that something was up , and they would have lost their element of surprise, which they needed since they did not have the numbers the demititans did. The out-of-universe explanation? I've done some pretty wild, far-fetched things in these books before (see jumping onto a moving train from a moving van), and I wanted to do something like that, but even more wild because I think it's fun.**

 **Also from cghe: "Elizabeth/Jocelyn shipping, or not?"  
A: You'll find out.**

 **From an anonymous Guest: "Just wandering, is school out for you and if it is, are you going to update earlier or during the day. It would be preferred because I'm don't like to stay very late, but if not that's okay."  
A: I am out of school, but I am, unfortunately, working two jobs all summer, so I'll continue to be busy during the day. So uploads will probably still be pretty late. Sorry about that :(**

 **From J. Cage: "The wait was worth it"  
A: Glad to hear it!**

 **From the-only-soldier-left: "OMG Elizabeth is gaaaayyyyyy!"  
A: It's a possibility. You'll have to wait to find out for sure.**

 **From pizzafan123: "This is great. I'm seriously loving this like I love Rick's series. Elizabeth is getting better and better. Last book made me sad, especially at the Thalia and Annabeth part. Damn you, Drake. Your really doing a fantastic job with this and the Jocelyn/Elizabeth think I believe your hinting or I think your hinting at is cool and interesting. Lost this for a while, but found it again since I started reading Trials of Apollo. Sorry for the ramble, I can't wait for more. This is definitely going on my favorites."  
A: Thank you so much for the massive compliment! I really appreciate it!**

 **Alright, that's it from me. Enjoy the chapter and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 2: I Destroy a Mirror

I stood in the back, between the driver and passenger seats, as we drove back into the City. Jocelyn and Theo were arguing about the music – or something – but I wasn't really paying attention. I'd been watching Marcus, waiting for him to come to, and brooding. That mission had gone so well. Too well. There was something weird going on. And then there was the discovery I'd made when I had searched Marcus's pockets…

"Elizabeth, chill out," Jocelyn said, snapping me out of my reverie. "We did it. Our mission was a huge success. Don't be a negative Nancy all the time."

"I'm not being a negative Nancy," I protested. "But you can't tell me that this doesn't feel off to either of you. That was _way_ too easy."

"Not this again," Theo moaned. "It was _not_ easy. We had to freaking jump out of this van for gods' sakes!"

"This is just like our first quest," Jocelyn added. "We went through all kinds of dangerous things and you still thought it was 'too easy' then."

"And I was right that time," I pointed out. "When have I been wrong about something like this? Something is off, I'm telling you. That's why I wanted to bring Marcus in the van with us. I have to know what's going on."

"Elizabeth, just let something good be good," Jocelyn sighed. She glanced back at me, a mixture of emotions in her hazel eyes, one of them pleading. She desperately wanted to believe we'd actually succeeded for once. We'd been behind the demititans the whole war. We all needed a win. I felt my stomach churn with guilt and… something else. I shook myself slightly.

"I want to," I said. "Honestly, I wish I could just believe we were actually successful for once. But I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, and if I ignore it and it somehow costs us something down the line, that's on me because I didn't do anything about it."

"Even if it was a trick, it doesn't matter," Jocelyn said. "The fact is, we have Marcus in our custody. No matter what, we can make this work for us."

I wasn't so sure about that. Just because we couldn't readily think of anything that would make this mission a waste didn't mean that something couldn't happen to do so. But I didn't say that, mostly because I didn't want to keep arguing with Jocelyn. "You're right," I sighed. "Something pretty drastic would have to happen to make this mission a waste. I guess I've just been paranoid lately."

"Lately?" Jocelyn asked, smirked.

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, inexplicably blushing.

Theo glanced back at me and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I almost wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but since Jocelyn was the one I was being weird around, I did not want to have that discussion with her present. Still, I'd have to talk to Theo when I got to camp tomorrow.

Then I heard a cough behind me. I whipped around, almost falling over in the moving vehicle. Marcus was conscious now. "Elizabeth," he croaked.

"Oh, good, you're up," I said, attempting nonchalance and failing miserably. "I've got some questions for you."

"Well, feel free to ask," he said hoarsely, his throat no doubt sore from when I choked him with his own tie. "But I cannot promise that I'll answer your questions. There're lots of things that you aren't supposed to know, obviously."

"I've got a question," Jocelyn said from the front. "Did you piss your pants when you saw Elizabeth coming for you?"

"Charming as always, Miss Clement," Marcus droned. "It's been awhile. Since Maryland, right?" I glanced at Jocelyn and could see her knuckles getting white on the steering wheel. "And Theo, right?" Marcus continued. "It's been… what? Three years? You've gotten quite a bit taller."

"Yeah, that's not a weird thing to say," Theo said sarcastically.

"Stop stalling," I said.

"Why should I? We're almost back at your school," Marcus pointed out. "That's where you're being dropped off, isn't it? After all, you've got to go pick up that friend of yours from the airport."

My stomach dropped. "How… how did you know that?"

"I was Gaius's spy master," Marcus said. "I know things. And don't you worry, Elizabeth. I'm not going anywhere. You'll be able to question me to your heart's content when you see me again."

At that moment, Jocelyn pulled into the parking lot of my school. I cursed, glancing at the time on my phone. I _had_ to get going. I looked forward at Theo and Jocelyn. Jocelyn sent me a message like _We'll take him back to camp and you'll have all the time in the world to question him tomorrow._ I groaned, but turned and opened the door. I glanced back at Marcus, "This isn't over," I growled.

"Of course it isn't," Marcus said. "I look forward to our continued questioning." Reluctantly, I hopped out of the van. Right before I closed the door, Marcus said, "Oh, incidentally, I assume you searched me?"

I gulped. "Yeah. I did."

"And what did you notice?" Marcus asked.

"You didn't have anything on you," I said grimly. "No phone, no wallet… nothing."

"You may want to give some thought on what that could mean," he said. "So long, Elizabeth."

* * *

When I pulled into the JFK International Airport parking garage, I was still mulling over my conversation with Marcus. One thing had become abundantly clear. I was right: it had been too easy. Which meant that Marcus getting captured was part of Gaius's plan. But why? What did Gaius stand to gain by allowing us to capture one of his most trusted advisors? It didn't make any sense. Marcus surely had a dangerous amount of information about Gaius's plans. Why would he risk us getting that information?

I was so lost in thought, standing outside baggage claim, that I didn't even notice Hannah Zhang until she was right in front of me. "Elizabeth, hi!" she exclaimed, giving me a hug.

"Hey Hannah," I replied, faking enthusiasm. Hannah stood back, picking her luggage back up (having put it down to hug me). She didn't look a whole lot like her older sister, Emily. She was taller, for one. Also, Hannah's hair was pitch black, and straight, whereas Emily's was frizzy and cinnamon colored. However, both sisters had their mother's golden eyes and the same dark skin, just a shade lighter than Theo's. "How are you doing?" I asked Hannah.

"I'm great! Really looking forward to finally seeing Camp Half-Blood tomorrow. I know it's a crazy time to be going to camp with everything that's going on, but I'm still really looking forward to it."

I smiled. "Good to hear." We started out of the building, Hannah continuing to chat about how excited she was to be going to camp. I responded politely, but I honestly wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. I was still caught up on the Marcus situation. Besides, Hannah was pretty excitable. She was mostly just talking about herself, which worked out fine for letting me continue to think.

That was, until, she asked me a question right as we were getting in my car. "Anyway, how are things for you?" she asked. "When we came for your family's Christmas party, didn't you say something about being super busy?"

"Uh, yeah," I said as I started my car. "I've had to split my time between school and camp all year. With the war going on, I couldn't exactly afford to step away completely."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just switch to being a full time camper?" Hannah asked.

"I thought about it," I admitted. "But I like going home every year, seeing my parents again, that sort of thing. Plus, I really didn't want to miss a year of school. Or however many years of school it would take for us to get through the rest of this war."

"That makes sense," Hannah said. "So what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well, my parents figured that since you were in town, we'd go out to eat someplace nice," I said. "Celebrate you getting to go to camp and all that good stuff."

"Cool!" Hannah exclaimed. "Are the Graces going to join us?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The Graces. That was a tricky situation. Aunt Piper and Uncle Jason were awesome. Sierra, who was a Praetor at Camp Jupiter, had been my friend my entire life. And I didn't have any problems with Riley, the youngest Grace, who was also at Camp Jupiter. But neither Sierra or Riley were in New York. The only Grace child in New York was Augustus, and my relationship with him was… complicated, to say the least. Ever since we'd broken up last summer, we'd barely spoken. The few times we had had gone… poorly. We fought worse than we ever had before or during our relationship. "No, I don't think so," I answered Hannah casually.

Hannah looked over at me, clearly embarrassed. "Oh gods, I just realized… I'm sorry, I didn't think –"

"It's fine," I said quickly, trying to avoid a conversation about it.

"So things are still bad with you and Augustus?" Hannah asked.

I sighed. Great. Too late now. "Bad is one word for it," I grumbled. "But listen, Hannah, I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Oh, right," she said quickly. "Sorry."

We drove in silence for a few minutes. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "So how was school? You uh… just finished seventh grade, right? How was that?"

"Yeah," Hannah said. "School was pretty good."

"Are you planning to go back for eighth grade in the fall?" I asked. "Or are you planning to stay at Camp Half-Blood year round?"

"I don't know," Hannah replied. "I haven't decided yet. I guess it depends on how the summer goes. And how involved I am with the war effort. I really want to do my part to help beat the demititans."

I frowned. It almost sounded like she was _excited_ to get involved in the war. "War isn't… Well, just try and have some _fun_ this summer, yeah? Camp isn't just about war. It's also about making friends and capture the flag and training. Besides, new campers don't typically go on war missions until they've gotten some training." That wasn't always the case, obviously, since I'd just taken two newbies on a mission earlier in the day. But Hannah didn't need to know that. The Mars in her was already showing, I didn't need to be encouraging her to want to fight even more.

"I don't need training," Hannah said. "I'm quite good at a lot of different weapons already. Plus Aunt Reyna taught me a bunch of different martial arts."

 _Aunt_ Reyna? I guess it made sense that Hannah would call her that, since their families both lived in San Francisco. Still, it was weird to hear it like that. "So based on that, I'm guessing that you'll want to be in the Ares cabin?" I asked, trying not to let Hannah's gung ho attitude bother me too much.

Hannah chuckled. "How'd you figure that out?" she asked sarcastically. We both laughed for a second, then she said, "But yes, I was planning on joining the Ares cabin."

"Well, good for you," I said. "You'll have a lot of cabin mates, so plenty of opportunity to make some new friends. And the counselor of the Ares cabin, Spencer, is camp's weapons' master. There is no weapon that he isn't an expert in using. You'll be in great hands."

"Glad to hear it!" Hannah said excitedly.

* * *

It was good to catch up with Hannah as we drove through the City. Plus it helped me take my mind off of Marcus. However, my harsh reality all came rushing back to me when I got back to my family's apartment. Hannah had just been asking me questions about my friends as we rode up in the elevator. "Well I can't wait to meet them," she said as the doors dinged open.

"Yeah, they're –" I stopped. The door to the apartment was ajar. My family _never_ left it ajar. The monster security wouldn't engage unless the door was closed all the way. I ripped my sword from its sheath and ran across the hall, leaving Hannah confused and concerned. I kicked the door open all the way and dashed into the living room, my sword held in front of me. The place was trashed. Furniture had been broken. The TV was shattered. A knife was stuck in the wall next to the door. My legs shook. "Mom?! Dad?!" My voice echoed through the apartment.

"What happened?" Emily asked, standing at the door.

I turned to her, a cold feeling filling up my whole body. "Just – Just stay here and uh… Do you have a weapon with you?"

Hannah yanked the knife from the wall. "Now I do."

"I'm going to search the rest of the apartment," I said breathlessly. My heart pounded furiously. I turned away from Hannah and dashed into the kitchen. From the doorway, I could tell that it was in ruins, too. I turned and bolted upstairs. My door had been ripped off its hinges and lay across the hall. I jumped over it and ran into my parents room. The bed had been turned over and was impaled with about ten arrows. It looked like my parents had used it for cover. I checked the walk-in closet and went to the back, where there was access to an emergency room. But as I moved aside Mom's business jackets where the door would be, I found a hole in the wall. The door had been busted down. The safe room wasn't safe.

My lungs constricted. I felt a panic attack coming on. "No," I growled. "Not again." It had been months since I'd had a panic attack, and I really did not want to get another one right now. Not when my parents were missing. Not when time was of the essence. But I wasn't sure if it was avoidable. This was my worst nightmare. Something had happened to my parents. And the demititans were obviously responsible.

I staggered from the room, down the hall towards my bathroom, struggling to breath. Meanwhile I ran through the tricks my therapist had taught me to hold back a panic attack. Yes, I had finally started seeing a therapist about my panic and anxiety problems. Of course, I had to fudge some of the causes, but ultimately the sessions had been helping immensely. Yet, something like this was unexpected. I didn't know how to handle it.

I made it into my bathroom and fumbled for my meds. My emotions boiled higher and higher. Panic, depression, anger, and hatred battled for dominance. What could have happened to my parents? Were they…? I pushed the thought back, refusing to entertain the notion. Memories of my parents jumped to my mind. Mom and Dad taking Matt and me to Lake Placid, Mom and I playing chess together, Dad and I having late night chats about nightmares, Mom talking to me about Luke Castellan…

"AGH!" I screamed, unable to hold it all in. I punched the bathroom mirror full force with my right hand. The glass shattered, and I even punched a hole in the drywall behind. I slid to the floor, tears streaming down my face. I buried my head in my hands.

Then my phone rang. I yanked it out of my pocket. _Video call from Augustus Grace_ read the screen. My first instinct was to ignore it. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now. But a small, logical part of me said, _Why would he be calling you if it wasn't something important?_ An entire bowling alley dropped into my stomach as a daunting idea came to me. I answered the call.

Augustus's face filled up the screen. His face was grey with fear. His brown hair was messy, like he'd been running his hands through it in a freak-out. "Elizabeth, my parents are gone!" I gulped. That was what I was afraid he'd say.

"Mine too," I said darkly. I jumped back up to my feet. "What happened?" I asked as I headed downstairs. "Give me every detail."

"There aren't many details to give," he said. "I was out on a da – getting dinner."

"Do you really think I give a shit that you were on a date?" I asked, annoyed. "Come on!"

"Fine!" Augustus snapped. "I was on a date! But when I got back, the door was open and the place was trashed and my parents were gone –"

"Hannah!" I shouted as I made it back into the living room.

She looked over, fear etched on her face. "Elizabeth! I heard you yell. You told me to stay here, but I didn't know if you wanted me or if you were hurt or –"

"Try calling your parents right now," I said, cutting her off. Adrenaline was rushing through my body. Every single neuron in my brain was firing. "And Gus –" I cursed myself silently for calling him that. That nickname had gone out the window when our relationship ended. "I mean, Augustus," I went on, "try getting in touch with Uncle Leo and Aunt Calypso. Text me whether or not you're able to get a hold of them."

Augustus nodded and hung up the call. Hannah looked over at me, her phone still ringing. "What are you going to do?" she asked, worried.

"I'm calling Nico," I said, already in my contacts. I tapped on Nico's number and pressed the call button. I paced, waiting to see whether someone would pick up. I was worried. It was hard to know just how far the demititans had gone. To my relief, though, the call was answered.

"Elizabeth?" asked Nico's husband Will as he picked up the phone. His face filled up the screen. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," I said. "Is Nico there?"

"I'm here," came a voice in the background of the call. Nico appeared on screen next to his husband, his black hair contrasting Will's blond. "What's wrong?"

"My parents have disappeared," I said, choking on the words. "I got back to the apartment after picking Hannah up at the airport and I found the place trashed. Then Augustus called me, and his parents are gone, too." Will's jaw dropped. Nico's eyebrows scrunched together, his already dark eyes turning almost purple.

"That's… I don't even have words for what that is," Nico said hoarsely.

"How could that have happened?" Will asked, bewildered. "Percy and Annabeth are two of the best fighters I've ever met."

"Elizabeth?" Hannah called, panicked. "I – I couldn't get in touch with my mom or dad."

At the same time, a bar appeared across the top of my phone's screen, informing me that I had a text message from Augustus. _No luck with Uncle Leo or Aunt Calypso_. I let out a hard breath, trying to think straight. My emotions were surging back in. "Okay, um… Nico, I think Uncle Frank and Aunt Hazel and Uncle Leo and Aunt Calypso are all gone too."

Nico's jaw tightened. "So it would appear that the Seven have been targeted. The demititans?"

I thought about Marcus and about how capturing him had been far too easy. "Definitely," I agreed. "Nico, do you think they're… you know…"

Nico shook his head. "I would've felt it if they died. Your family is still alive Elizabeth." I choked back a sob of relief. As awful as it was that they were gone, they were alive. Nico closed his eyes, thinking. "Alright, you and Hannah get to Camp Half-Blood right away. I'm going to start looking for your family immediately. We'll get them back."

"Can I come with you?" I asked on an impulse. "I want to help you look for them."

Nico frowned, looking down. "No, Elizabeth. Go to Camp Half-Blood. They need you there. I will let you know when I have a lead on where your parents and the others are, I promise. But Camp Half-Blood needs you."

I bit my tongue, holding back my desire to argue with him. Instead, I nodded. "Alright."

"Have faith Elizabeth," Nico said. "I will find them, I swear on the River Styx."

Will looked at his husband uneasily, clearly concerned about the seriousness of the oath Nico had just taken, then he turned to me. "Stay strong, Elizabeth," he said.

"Thank you," I said. "Both of you." I hung up. My mind and emotions were still racing wildly. Hannah was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried.

 _Marcus_ , I thought. My emotions slammed to a stop on hatred. I set my jaw. "Hannah, I'm going upstairs to get my stuff," I said evenly. "Then we're going to camp. I've got someone I need to ask a few questions."

* * *

 **AN: And that's it! I'll see you guys with the next chapter on Tuesday!**


	3. Chapter 3: I Revisit an Old Vision

**AN: Hey guys! So I'm back with the next chapter! You guys have already shown so much support on book 4 that it boggles my mind, so thank you so so so much for that. Before we get into the chapter, it's time for review responses.**

 **First, from SilverAngelo: "** **PLEASE TELL ME THAT ELIZABETH ISNT GOING FOR HANNAH TOO! THAT MAKES HER EVEN MORE LIKELY TO BE GAY/BI! "  
A: Elizabeth x Hannah will not be a thing.**

 **Also from SilverAngelo: "The Seven MUST come back and Leo will be all like, HEY BABY, IM BACK! YA MISS ME? *Bashes a monster/demititans face with his awesome flaming hammer* THATS WHAT I THOUGHT."  
A: Or something like that, hahaha.**

 **From TheImpalaLover: "No! Not her parents. At the same time I both love and hate the cliffhangers. I hate the suspense part but with cliff hangers you know something big might happen. Not very many people can make really good cliffhangers where it isn't obvious to what's going to happen but you managed to do so. Your a wonderful writer and one day I hope to see your real name (whatever it is) on a book that's on the New Yorks best seller list."  
A: Cliffhangers are one of my favorite things to do (if you haven't noticed, haha), so I'm happy that they're good ones. Thank you so much for the compliment, and hopefully one day I will publish a book irl. Fingers crossed!**

 **From Person: "Ha ha, I was right, except for the fact that all of the seven got kidnapped. When I was reading that short, I got this vibe that her parents are missing, I don't know, but great story. I think so far, this might be my favorite Elizabeth story and you're on chapter 2. AWESOME!"  
A: Well that was definitely a good prediction. Nice job! And I'm glad you're enjoying book 4 so far. It's been my favorite to write, as well, which is saying something because I've enjoyed writing this whole series.**

 **From an anonymous guest: "Percy...Annabeth...gone. Noooooooooo! Stay strong Elizabeth. I feel your pain."  
A: I know! Things are looking pretty dire!**

 **From Unicute17: "YES YES YES! Is there MarcusxElizabeth gods, I HOPE NOT!"  
A: I can also confirm that Marcus x Elizabeth will not be a thing, so you can rest easy there. Also, I assume the "YES"es mean that you're enjoying the story so far, so thanks!**

 **From RockRoy: "See, too easy. I'm guessing Marcus won't be saying much. Love the start of the novel, can't wait for the rest :)"  
A: You'll find out what Marcus will or will not say very soon. And I'm glad you're loving it! I look forward to sharing the rest of it.**

 **From cghe: "Wow! Lots of stuff happening! Although it kind of strange how that happened, but I guess I'll find out when Gaius goes into monologue mode."  
A: There is a lot going on! Don't worry, though, all will be explained by the end.**

 **Also from cghe: "Frank doesn't seem to have much of that Ares/Mars in him, so I'm kind of surprised by Hannah's eagerness. Is she the opposite of Emily, or kind of a similar personality?"  
A: Frank did have some Mars, but it was more of the tactical side rather than the battle eagerness side. But yeah, that eagerness wasn't really something Frank had. Of course, Frank had a horrible experience with war, since he lost his mother to it. Hannah hasn't had that, all she's had is the stories about her parents' and their friends' adventures, so it sounds exciting to her. Not too dissimilar to how Elizabeth was at the start of book 1. But with her parents gone, that's going to be changing things real quick. As for similarities and differences, Hannah is definitely more eager and excitable than Emily. Hannah is also more confident (because despite Emily's great power, she has lots of confidence issues). But they are sisters, so there are definitely some similarities there, too.**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "Before I begin: one tiny typo where you confused Hannah's name for Emily's."  
A: Ah, man! No matter how hard I try, something always seems to slip through the cracks.**

 **Also from AnamariaJovel: "Anyways, OH MY GODS! This was beautiful, AmaZhang! The Seven have been captured and this is VERY VERY BAD! OMG WHAT IS GOING ON!? I very much so want to throw Marcus out of the moving van he's in right now! Ughhhh!"  
A: Yeah, things aren't looking so great right now, are they? And you probably share that desire to throw Marcus out of a van with Elizabeth lol.**

 **Also from AnamariaJovel: "Also, does Elizabeth have feelings for Jocelyn! THATS SO CUTE! Theo just casually looks over at Elizabeth like "I know the feeling" lol :)"  
A: I can neither confirm nor deny the possibility of Elizabeth having feelings for Jocelyn. I will say that the answer to that question will become clearer in the next couple of chapters.**

 **From Liz: "What! You can't just kidnap the SEVEN ! Why do I even read this series?!"  
A: I know, I'm mean :(**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "I bet that 'someone' is Chiron, and by the gods of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Norway! That was not so fun filled."  
A: It was not so fun, no. And this chapter won't be particularly "fun" either. As for who Elizabeth is going to talk to, you'll see in just a moment.**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "Well, things just got real"  
A: That they did!**

 **And last but not least, from Percabeth2001: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE SEVEN CAN'T LEAVE! You evil demon what have you done to them? (BTW I really love your books)"  
A: You'll have to read to find out. MWAHAHAHA! (And thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying them)**

 **Alright, that's it from me. Now it's time for the chapter. DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 3: I Revisit an Old Vision

I slammed on my brakes as I pulled into the small parking lot behind the Big House. Next to me, Hannah sat in the passenger's seat, still frozen in fear and sadness about what happened. And maybe my driving a little bit. I'd pretty much ignored all the laws on our way. I practically leaped from the driver's seat. Chiron and Spencer, from the Ares cabin, were waiting for me by the back door. Chiron looked worn thin. He had more grey hairs in his beard than ever. His eyes were somewhat bloodshot. Spencer stood next to him with his bulging arms crossed, a brooding look on his face.

They both knew what was going on. I'd called ahead on the way. "Elizabeth," Chiron said, his voice hoarse. "Are you alright?"

"What do you think?" I asked sarcastically, too angry to care that I was being rude.

Hannah had finally unfrozen and climbed out of the car. Spencer looked between me and Chiron. "I'll uh… go help her while you two chat." He strode away from Chiron and me back towards my car.

"Chiron, where is he?" I asked.

"Elizabeth, I am not sure it is a good idea for you to speak to Marcus now," he replied warningly. "You are still too angry. You would not be able to get any information out of him. It will only serve to make you more upset."

"It's my family," I said. "I have to do something!"

"And you will," he said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We all will. But for now, it is best that you take some time to clear your head."

"I don't need to clear my head," I insisted through gritted teeth. "What I need to do is question Marcus. I'm sure he knows what happened to my parents and everyone else. The sooner I find out, the sooner we can go rescue them. But the longer we wait, the more likely that they'll be… That we won't be able to save them anymore. Please, Chiron, I need to do this."

"If you need someone to keep an eye on her, I can do that," said a familiar voice. I glanced behind Chiron. Jocelyn was walking out of the Big House. She was glistening with sweat and wearing a tight tank top and shorts, clearly having just been working out. Jocelyn had always been… more mature looking than me, and that was more apparent than ever right then. My heart pounded against my ribcage for reasons – which I didn't entirely understand – unrelated to my anger at Marcus. She glanced over at me, worry etched all over her face. "Sorry, I just heard. I was doing some field testing with the Mech Suit. I rushed up here as soon as Jake told me what happened." I nodded my thanks. Jocelyn turned back to Chiron. "Look, Elizabeth deserves the chance to talk to Marcus. But I'll stay with her and make sure she doesn't hurt him or something."

Chiron sighed. "Alright, fine. You may go see Marcus, Elizabeth. But please, stay calm. Your only chance to get information out of him is to outwit the son of Prometheus, and you'll only be able to do that with a clear head."

"Fine," I said shortly.

"Marcus and those other bastards we captured are in Bunker Nine," Jocelyn said. "Jake's having Marcus moved into a separate room for questioning."

"Alright," I said. I turned slightly, glancing back at Hannah and Spencer. I took the few steps back over to them. Hannah was starting to open up a little again, thanks to Spencer's efforts. Surprisingly, the son of Ares was quite good at being gentle and soothing. "Hey, Hannah," I said, trying my best to keep my rage out of my voice. She turned towards me, her eyebrows drawn together. "Listen, I'm going to find out what happened to our parents, and I'm going to bring them back. I promise."

Hannah opened her mouth to respond, apparently decided against saying whatever it was she was going to say, and nodded. I turned back to Jocelyn. "Let's go," I said, my voice hardening.

* * *

Theo was waiting for us in the entry area of Bunker Nine. He looked worried, his face drawn. He held out his arms as if to hug me, but I shook my head. "I'm not in the mood," I said. "What cell is he in?"

"This way," Theo said. He led the way down one of the hallways. Campers bustled past, carrying weapons and projects. A few glanced at me worriedly as we walked past each other. News traveled fast at camp, I knew that. But this news had spread faster than I thought was possible. Eventually, Theo brought us to a stop in front of two sets of doors. Jake was there, too.

"Elizabeth," he said seriously. "Marcus is right in here. I've converted an old testing room into an interrogation chamber. The mirror in there is that two way glass stuff. So I'll be able to watch and monitor your session without Marcus seeing me."

I nodded. "Alright." I turned to the plain metal door. I shut my eyes, counting in my head in an attempt to calm down. Chiron had been right. The only way I was going to be able to get any information out of Marcus was to outwit him. And the only chance I had to do that was to remain calm. I opened my eyes, letting out a deep breath as I did so. "Theo, why don't you monitor the questioning with Jake. Jocelyn, you're with me." They both nodded. Jake and Theo moved to the other door and went in.

"Any particular reason you don't want Theo in the room with us?" Jocelyn asked quietly.

"He doesn't usually have much to say in these situations," I said. "Have you noticed that? He hardly speaks around demititan commanders. I'm not sure why, but whatever the reason, I think it best that he watches and listens. See if he notices anything you or I miss. On the other hand, you always have something to say."

Jocelyn cocked her head to the side. "'See if he notices something you or I miss'? Are we talking about the same Theo? Because the Theo I know is one of the most oblivious people on the planet. I mean, love him and all. But what's he going to notice that you or I won't?"

I didn't answer. While I was almost entirely focused on Marcus, I wanted Theo watching from the other room to keep an eye on… something else. An idea I'd started to develop. I shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth a try," I lied to Jocelyn. "Now, come one."

* * *

I slammed the door behind me as I strode into Marcus's cell. He was seated at a metal table. His suit jacket was gone. His tie was loosened, as well. Around his neck was a thin purple line – a bruise from me choking him with his own tie. His hands were cuffed together. He looked up at me. "Ah, Elizabeth," he said calmly, a thin smirk playing on his face. "You're here early. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow. What happened? Find an unpleasant surprise when you got home?"

"Cut the shit," I said shortly, standing across the table from him. "My parents. Where are they?"

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Marcus said.

"Oh come on," Jocelyn said. "You're Gaius's… what? Number three? There's no way that you _don't_ know where they are."

"Well, technically, I'm his number two," Marcus said. "You see, I'm third in command of the demititans, which means that I'm the _second_ person behind Gaius – first in command of the demititans. Therefore, I am his number two, but number three overall."

I clenched my fists. "Fine," I growled. "As Gaius's number _two,_ then, you must know where my family is."

Marcus leaned forward. "I don't know. Gaius isn't stupid enough to tell the guy he allowed to get captured that kind of important information. He started cutting me out of meetings six months ago."

So Marcus had been captured on purpose. That was not a surprise, but it was good to get him to admit it. Maybe I _could_ get something out of Marcus. "That must've hurt," I guessed. "Gaius was just willing to throw you away like that? After all your faithful service?"

Marcus snorted. "Do you really think that manipulating me is going to be that easy?" He rolled his eyes. "I understand that you're upset about your parents, but I thought you were smarter than that. Look, this war won't last forever, and you demigods won't execute me. It's against your nature, and I'm too valuable anyway. So _when_ Gaius _wins_ , I'll be back at his side. Trust me, this is only a temporary arrangement."

"So we're supposed to buy that you don't know _anything_?" Jocelyn asked. "I'm calling bull on that one. Your information might be six months old, but you still know things. You know Gaius's grand plan, you know where your friends' bases are, and even if you don't know for sure where the Seven are, you have a guess."

Marcus shrugged. "Perhaps I do. But good luck getting me to talk. You have nothing to offer me and nothing to threaten me with."

I closed my eyes. This was not going well. My anger was threatening to boil over again. I closed my eyes and took several breaths, trying to stay calm. "If you won't tell us anything," I said through gritted teeth, "then you don't have any value to us. So why wouldn't we execute you?"

"I told you, it's not in your nature," Marcus said.

"I killed Marina," I pointed out. Next to me, Jocelyn shifted uncomfortably, but for the first time in a while, I didn't really care what she thought. I was too focused on my hatred of Marcus.

"By accident," Marcus said derisively. "You are not a cold blooded killer, Elizabeth. I have no doubt that you'd _like_ to kill me right now. But that doesn't mean that you have what it takes to do it. And you would regret it even if you did. And besides, even if you did have it in you, just imagine the reactions you'd cause. So as much as you _want_ to kill me right this moment, you can't. Just as I've never been able to realize my wish to kill you. We can't always get what we want."

My nails were digging so hard into my left hand that I was pretty sure I was starting to bleed. "Tell. Us. What. You. Know," I said, clipping off each word.

"Or what?" Marcus said derisively. "You have _nothing_ Elizabeth. No power over me. Did you not just hear what I was saying?"

Finally, the lid I'd been holding over my anger flew off completely. I slammed my right fist down on the table so hard that I left a dent three inches deep in the metal. My robot hand stung slightly, but I didn't care. "Elizabeth!" Jocelyn snapped.

I ignored her. "Tell us what you know," I yelled at Marcus, "or I swear to all the gods that this table won't be the only thing that will have a dent in the SHAPE OF MY FIST!"

"Elizabeth, that's enough!" Jocelyn shouted, her Southern accent coming through. She grabbed my arm and turned me towards her, her face red like she was angry, but her hazel eyes betraying the fact that she was scared. I felt a surge of guilt, temporarily overriding my anger at and hatred of Marcus. That had been me. I'd scared her. "You need to get out of here and _cool down_."

I nodded stiffly. Jocelyn was right. Even so, it took a great deal of effort to finally make my way toward the door. My hand was on the doorknob when Marcus called after me, "You have quite the temper, Elizabeth. It reminds me of Gaius. You two are a lot alike." I wanted to turn back, but using all my willpower, I ignored him and left the room.

* * *

An hour later, I sat at the beach, watching the stars appear in the sky one by one as night fell. I was still so livid that I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I thought about Marcus and Gaius and wondered… why? I just didn't understand. What was the advantage of letting Marcus get captured just so Gaius could kidnap my family? What was the point? Did Gaius just want to cause me pain…?

Suddenly a memory jumped to mind. Three years ago, on my very first quest, Jocelyn, Theo, and I had gone to get Hecate's help. On the way to her palace in the Underworld, we had to go through some special Mist that showed us our worst fears. At first, mine had been exactly what I'd expected: spiders. But then something weird happened. I'd seen a vision of my parents, injured and writhing in pain. Then a voice, claiming to be Kronos, had spoken, saying that my destiny would cause my parents' demise. I'd never been sure whether it was a trick of the Mist or something more.

But now I knew. It _had_ been something more. It had been a vision of the future. My chest tightened painfully. I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to hold back a panic attack. The vision replayed itself in my head, even worse than it had been when I'd first seen it. And this time, the Graces, the Zhangs, and the Valdezes were there, too. All eight of them were crumpling in pain, bones breaking, cuts appearing all over their bodies. My head pounded. My heart was beating so fast I was surprised it could even handle the strain. I gasped for air as my eyes teared up. "No, no, no," I groaned. I was officially having a panic attack for the first time in months. And it was worse than any I'd had before. Kronos's voice echoed in my head, laughing, saying, _You see, Elizabeth? This is your fault. This is because of you_.

The ocean in front of me was becoming agitated, waves bouncing off of each other and building in intensity. My gut wrenched painfully. I gripped the sides of my head as a new pain compounded on top of my panic attack: the pain of using my powers. Anytime I used my water powers there were huge drawbacks. I'd get nauseous, develop a headache, get a fever, even pass out. The only thing that helped at all was my sword in trident form, but even that didn't prevent the negative side effects altogether. And at any rate, I was in no shape to try and draw my sword and turn it into a trident. I was completely paralyzed.

The water in front of me got even more agitated and so did my panic attack. My visions changed. Aunt Hazel hanging upside from a ceiling, a rope wrapped around her ankles, while someone I couldn't really see punched her in the gut; Uncle Frank getting nailed to a table; Aunt Calypso chained down while someone hammered nails under her fingernails; Uncle Leo tied to a chair being alternately water boarded and electrocuted; Aunt Piper tied up while someone choked her until she was about to pass out before letting up, only to repeat the process; Uncle Jason locked in a pod and gasping for air as someone lowered the oxygen level, bruises already present all over his body; Mom hanging from the ceiling, chained by her wrists, screaming as her cell filled up with huge black spiders; and Dad chained to a wall while he was beat mercilessly with metal clubs, his eyes taped open and his head strapped back so he was forced to watch a video feed of the others getting tortured.

Back in reality I bit down on my tongue so hard that I tasted blood, trying to hold in a scream. My sight blurred. In front of me, the water was surging violently. Tears streaked down my face. I gagged as I felt the urge to vomit. Nothing was making sense to me anymore. Finally, I couldn't hold it back any longer. I let out a guttural scream. When I did, the ocean in front of me was blasted away by twenty feet. Everything went black. I'm not sure if I passed out, since what I saw next fit with my other panic attack visions – except this time I was actually there.

I was in some sort of large atrium room, my sword drawn. My brother Matt stood next to me, his sword drawn as well, the badge of Praetor pinned to his chest. Behind us was our family, everyone I'd just seen getting tortured, looking barely alive. The only one holding a weapon was Mom. She also had a sword in her hand. Directly in front of us was Nico di Angelo, his back to us, his Stygian iron sword held aloft in both hands. The rest of the room was filled with monsters and soldiers wearing demititan armor, bows drawn taut. And on a raised dais at the top of the room was Gaius, standing there, smirking, his golden eyes blazing.

My eyes snapped open. I was lying sideways in the sand. Everything hurt. I groaned and sat up, trying to regain my bearings. The ocean had gone back to normal, gentle waves lapping at the sand. Right by where my face had been, there was a pool of vomit, soaking into the sand. I wrinkled my nose at it and checked to make sure I didn't have any stuck to my face.

Those visions had been far worse than the typical ones I got during panic attacks. But besides that, they'd felt different. Typically what I saw in my head during a panic attack was imaginary, but this time had felt real. More like the prophetic dreams I sometimes had than a figment of my imagination. In fact, Matt had had a dream featuring him in a Praetor badge last year…

"Elizabeth!" a voice called from down the beach before I could dwell on my visions very long. Coming towards me were Jocelyn and Theo. I really didn't want them to see I'd thrown up, especially Jocelyn. So even though I was already sore and exhausted, I tugged on the water and made it wash away my sick.

It worked just in time, too. Jocelyn and Theo made it over to me just as the last of my puke was washed away. "Thought we'd find you here," Jocelyn said.

"Can we sit?" Theo asked. I nodded, and my two friends sat on either side of me, all of us staring out over Long Island Sound.

After a full minute of silence, I said, "I'm sorry I freaked out on Marcus so bad. It's just… My family…"

"We get it," Jocelyn said softly. "You don't need to explain yourself. But you weren't doing yourself any good by staying in that room and screaming at Marcus."

"I know," I said morosely. I sighed. "The mission was a waste. It was just a distraction to keep us out of the way while the demititans kidnapped my family. And Marcus won't tell us anything. He's right. We've got nothing to force information out of him."

Theo and Jocelyn shared a look. "Actually," Theo said, "we managed to get some information out of him."

"What?!" I yelped. "How? What did you find out? Do you know where my parents are?"

"No, we didn't find out where they're keeping your family," Jocelyn said. "And technically it wasn't us that got info out of him. It was Augustus."

I frowned. "Augustus? But… Oh!" As grandson of Aphrodite, and son of one of the best charmspeakers in years, Augustus had become quite proficient at the skill.

"He must've arrived at camp shortly after you," Theo said. "He made it to Bunker Nine only minutes after you left."

"It's pretty clear that Marcus has been trained to resist charmspeak, because it took a while for Augustus to get anything out of him," Jocelyn added. "But eventually he told us that our old pal Drake has taken over Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands." Drake… The monster that had killed Thalia. My stomach churned all over again.

"What is Boldt Castle, anyway?" Theo asked.

"I've been there," I said. "A long time ago. My folks took Matt and me on vacation one year. There was this super rich guy – his last name was Boldt – from the late 1800s or early 1900s. Something like that. Anyway, he really loved his wife and he loved the Thousand Islands. So he decided that he was going to build her a castle for Valentine's Day. But she died before work could be finished on it. He was so stricken by grief, that he ordered his workers to stop building. He never returned to the island where he was building it, and he never had it finished."

"That's really sad," Theo said.

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. Anyway, the buildings on the island fell into disrepair. But eventually it got bought by… I think it was like the Thousand Islands' Authority or something like that. I don't quite remember that part. At any rate, they started to repair it and even worked on finishing the project as specified in the original plans. It's been open to the public for decades. It's a huge tourist attraction."

"So the castle's complete now?" Theo asked.

"Not when I was there," I said. "They were still working on the top two floor of the main castle, plus they still had a lot of work to do in the other buildings. Projects like that take a long time, I guess, just because progress depends on ticket sales."

"Well it might be finished now," Jocelyn said. "According to Marcus, the island has been heavily fortified. Drake has turned the place into a fortress for the purpose of consolidating their monster army. Residents of the nearby towns have been heavily influenced by the Mist to keep them out of the way. And Boldt Castle has 'officially' put out the word that it is 'temporarily closed to the public.'"

"Did Marcus say why they were trying to consolidate their monster army?" I asked.

"He didn't say," Theo answered. "That's all Augustus was able to get out of him. But Jocelyn has a theory."

"It's not really a theory," Jocelyn said. "It's just an idea. I think that they're getting ready for a big assault. Maybe even their endgame."

I tensed slightly, but honestly I was already at terror capacity with my family gone. "Do we have any idea when that'll be? When the monster army will be consolidated?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "Marcus didn't say. But based on how he was talking, it sounds like we've got _some_ time, at least. So we filled in Chiron, Spencer, and Elesa," Jocelyn continued. "There'll be a huge war council meeting tomorrow. Sierra is coming in person along with several Centurions. Spencer is already talking about trying to assault the castle en masse before Drake builds his monster force all the way up."

"A full scale battle," I mused. "That would be… huge." Jocelyn and Theo nodded in agreement. "My family," I went on nervously. "Did Marcus think they'd be in Boldt Castle?"

Jocelyn frowned. "He didn't say anything one way or the other. But it's possible…"

"That's not good enough," I groaned. "Mobilizing for such a big battle will take a long time. Every day we wait, the chances that they're still… that we can still save them get smaller and smaller. By the time we get to Boldt Castle, there's a good chance it'll already be too late. And they might not even be there."

"But what can we do about it?" Theo asked morosely.

" _We_ can't do anything," I said. "But _I_ can. I'm going back to my apartment to see if there are any clues. Tonight."

"Are you insane?" Jocelyn asked harshly. "That has got to be the most idiotic plan you've ever come up with. You can't run away with everything that's going on and you definitely can't do it alone."

"I'm not running away," I countered. "I'm just leaving to go look for my parents without asking for permission first. Because if I asked, the answer would be no. And I _am_ going alone. Camp needs you two, especially if there's going to be a big battle coming up. You're head counselors. You have permanent seats on the war council. Neither of those things applies to me. And I'm not going to take anyone else, either. All the people I _would_ take need to be _here_."

"So what?" Jocelyn said. "You're just going to go off on your own? What happens if you get into trouble, huh? Who's going to be there to watch your back?"

"I'll be fine," I said. "I don't need anyone to watch my back."

"Really?" Jocelyn said flatly. "Because that sounds like a great way to get yourself _killed_. But by all means, throw your life away. It's yours to do with what you want."

"I'm not throwing my life away, but I can't just sit by and wait around while my family is in danger!" I argued back.

"Guys!" Theo snapped. "That's enough! Jocelyn, let up. Elizabeth, you can't run off on your own. We need _you_ here, too. Even though you aren't an official or permanent member of the war council, you're still a member. We need your thoughts, especially since you have more experience with the demititans than anyone else on the council. You have an important role to play _here_. Chasing after your parents isn't going to do you any good. Do you honestly think that there are clues that you can follow back to their location? The demititans are better than that, and you know it."

I looked down, sighing, but I was also surprised. Since when had Theo been so good at mediating arguments? "Fine. You're right."

"I know I am," Theo said. "Now I think it would do us all good to get to bed. It's past curfew anyway, and I really don't want to get eaten by security Harpies." He stood up to go, offering me a hand. I took it, allowing Theo to pull me to my feet. Jocelyn was already up, brushing sand off her pants.

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry about that," she said quietly. "I was probably too harsh just now."

"It's okay," I said. Then, after a moment, "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have suggested that I run away to look for my parents on my own. It was a… dumb and dangerous idea." That second part was a lie. I wasn't sorry, and I hadn't given up on my plan. I was going to go back to New York and I was going to find a lead. I couldn't do it tonight anymore, though. Theo and Jocelyn were still too suspicious, I was sure. Plus, despite the fact that concern for my parents was overwhelming all my other concerns and emotions, I did want to see what happened at the war council. But after that, I saw no reason to stay. I was going to track my parents down, and nothing was going to stop me.

 **AN: The suspense intensifies! See you guys with the next chapter on Friday (or maybe on Saturday, depends on the next couple of days).**


	4. Chapter 4: I'm Confronted by a Visitor

**AN: Hey guys! So I am FINALLY back with the next chapter. I am really sorry about how late this chapter is. I owe you guys an explanation, so even though I don't usually like sharing details about my personal life on here, I will tell you what's been going on. SO, this summer, for reasons that I won't get into, I'm having to work two jobs. Now that is a HUGE amount of time. I'm spending more time working than I did all year on school work. Understandably, this has put huge constraints on how much time I have to work on this story. Staying on top of two uploads a week was something that I thought I could handle, but it proved to be too much. I became paralyzed by my own stress and was unable to even write an author's note explaining the delay to you guys. I am VERY sorry about that. But now I am finally back with the next chapter.**

 **However, and this is important, for my own sanity and for the sake of my schedule, I will be cutting back to one upload a week, at least for the time being. I'm sorry to do this because I've been proud of my relative consistency of two uploads per week each story. But I really need to cut it back for my health. Now, if I adjust to my work schedule, maybe I will be able to return to two uploads a week. But for now, I will have to do one upload a week, most likely on Wednesdays or Thursdays.**

 **So yeah. I'm sorry about that, but I hope you guys understand. I do want to thank everyone for enjoying these stories so much.**

 **Speaking of which, it's time for review responses. First, from Person: "** **That one paragraph about all of the tortures, I was cringing at it. Shuddering, it was like I was getting the panic attack. But it was also nice to see foreshadowing. I tell you I won't make it through the end of this book. I am already dying to get the Seven out of that creepy place. I want the series to end. I want to KNOW! Have you ever read a book where you just kept reading and reading because you couldn't stop? Well this is what I feel like. I just want to keep reading but I can't ahhh!"  
A: It's definitely pretty intense. I thought it would be some dark/intense foreshadowing. Glad you thought it was nice to see it. As for the "** **you ever read a book where you just kept reading and reading because you couldn't stop?" Yes I have, I know exactly what you mean. And I can't tell you how touching it is that you feel that way about my stories.**

 **From SilverAngelo: "Can there be a new camper that can be like "The insider" giving the demititans info and updates? Like a mole, but can demititans even get into camp half blood?"  
A: A mole inside Camp Half-Blood is actually briefly touched on in this chapter.**

 **Also from SilverAngelo: "ELIZABETH, IM COMIMG WITH YOU AND YOU CANT STOP ME BECAUSE YOURE A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. DEAL WITH IT."  
A: Haha, well by that logic, we're all going with her!**

 **One last one from SilverAngelo: "Marcus, don't be a jerk and just tell us where the Seven are and then maybe I'll go easy on you. Well, as easy as death cage can get, maybe throw in a couple manticores instead of the giant hydra"  
A: I have a feeling that you aren't alone in wanting to cause Marcus all sorts of harm.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "Wait, how did Marcus get trained to resist charmspeak? Do they have an Aphrodite demigod on their side to do the training? Or is there a Titan counterpart of Aphrodite?"  
A: All will be explained in time.**

 **From RockRoy: "Ooh the suspense dun dun duun... Can't wait to read the next one."  
A: Well the wait is FINALLY over.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "Question: Why did Gaius need to distract the kids to capture the seven? It seems that the kids didn't know of the kidnapping until it happened. Also, how did Gaius find out about their intention to capture Marcus?"  
A: Gaius did not want to capture the kids, so he wanted to attack their parents while the kids weren't there. As for the second part... that'd be a pretty big spoiler.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Oh the emotions are piling up..."  
A: That they are!**

 **From the-only-soldier-left: "Yaaaaaaaasssssssss I love it! Also, a bit morbid, don't ya think?"  
A: Glad you loved it. And yeah. It was REALLY dark. That's arguably the darkest, most morbid moment in the whole series (like even the parts that haven't been written yet).**

 **From cghe: "Awesome! I should have known about Boldt castle, if I just google searched your book image. Quite far for the demigods to travel, though, so it will be hard for the demigods to plan an all out attack. Although I think it's rather impractical to have the mecha suits traverse 400 miles across New York."  
A: Oh don't worry. The issue of logistics is brought up and will come into play.**

 **Also from cghe: "so, how did Chiron put a hand on his own shoulder in the first section if he is a centaur? I think you meant that Chiron was laying a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, but it doesn't make much sense regardless. Unless he's still in wheelchair form, which he normally does for newcomers,(like Hannah I guess) but it all seems slightly strange."  
A: Yeah, it was meant to be Elizabeth's shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting gesture. And in full horse form, he could easily reach her shoulder.**

 **One last one from cghe: "What's this something else that Theo was supposed to keep an eye on?"  
A: That'll be touched upon.**

 **From an anonymous guest: "Okay Rick Riordan! Massive cliffhangers there... you are a demon"  
A: Cliffhangers are fun though. MWAHAHAHA**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "Oh Elizabeth that is a TERRIBLE IDEA! Ohhhh, is this going to lead up to the ending of your one-shot, where she goes back to the Poconos to find them? OOOH! Beautiful work, I cannot wait for more!"  
A: Oh yeah, Elizabeth definitely isn't planning the smartest thing she's ever done. And yes, it will loop around to the one shot (though I think you meant the Adirondacks?). And more is FINALLY here. I'm sorry about that.**

 **From TheImpalaLover: "The suspense! I absolutely love this story. Fanfics:Life** **ThisFanfic:Heaven. I don't want it to ever end!"  
A: Wow, that is some incredibly high praise! I'm glad you love my stories so much.**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "Those were some pretty graphic descriptions of torture"  
A: Yes they were. This book is definitely the darkest yet. And that'll probably be the darkest moment of the whole series.**

 **From Liz: "I...this...but...why...no words"  
A: I know. It's SUPER stressful and suspenseful. I hope you found your words, though. Must've been hard to talk to your friends and family without them.**

 **From J. Cage: "Now those were some seriously creative torture methods. Why do I have a hunch that you have a sadistic mind. (JK)"  
A: I think it's already been determined that I am very slightly evil. But I'm not so evil as to keep doing things as dark and twisted as that.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "I used to be a proud skeptic of the 'Elizabeth is gay' theory, but this chapter has converted me"  
A: Well that's touched upon in this chapter, too!**

 **Alright, that's all the review responses. Once again, I am sorry for being so terribly late with an update, and I am really sorry to be cutting back to one upload a week. I hope you all understand. And I hope you enjoy the chapter (which is quite a long one). DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 4: I'm Confronted by a Surprise Visitor

The next morning I finally got to catch up with Katherine. She was already asleep when I got back to the Poseidon cabin the night before. So when I woke up in the morning, I found my cabin mate watching me, concerned, while combing her straight blonde hair, her sea green eyes dark. "Hey," she said when she noticed my eyes opening. "Are you alright?"

I groaned. I couldn't count the number of times I'd gotten that question over the last two years. And even in the short time since my parents and the rest of the Seven had disappeared, the question had been popping back up all over again. I gave my usual answer. "I'm fine," I lied.

"I heard about what happened," she went on. "With your folks. I want you to know –"

"Look, Katherine," I said, "I really don't want to talk about it. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but please… just leave it."

Katherine held up her hands. "Alright, I'll drop it."

"Thank you," I said, leaning back in my bed and staring at the ceiling. I avoided looking at the wall, where Dad's Minotaur horn was hanging. It was just too painful. "So, how have _you_ been?" I asked. Even though I'd actually spent a lot of time at camp over the year – almost every weekend, in fact – Katherine and I hadn't actually seen each other in a while. We were usually busy with our own separate missions.

"I've been pretty good," Katherine said. "Busy, you know. In fact… I'm actually leaving on another mission right after breakfast. I'll probably be gone for two days. I know that there's a big war council meeting tonight, so are you ready to officially represent the Poseidon cabin at a war council meeting?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Sure. What's your mission going to be?"

"Following up on a lead on a demititan base," she said. "It probably won't go anywhere. These missions never do," she added morosely.

I knew the feeling. These missions almost never gave us anything useful to work with. _And even when they do, we lose something worse,_ I thought bitterly. I laced up my combat boots as the conch horn sounded for breakfast, thinking about tonight. I was as determined as ever to chase my family down – sleep hadn't cooled my anger at all.

* * *

When I walked into the dining pavilion, I was faced with yet another painful reminder of what had happened: everyone stopped talking as soon as I walked in. Katherine and I strode towards our table in complete silence. Everyone's eyes followed me, no doubt trying to gauge my mood. A quick glance at the Zeus table informed me that Augustus had skipped breakfast, no doubt because he was worried about this very reaction.

Finally, Jocelyn broke the tension by saying loudly, "Donny, you need to get a haircut. You look like a girl." A few people chuckled and the silence was finally lifted. People went back to chatting with each other. And while I noticed some campers whispering to each other and pointing my way, I was grateful to Jocelyn for relieving me from everyone's absolute attention. I looked over at her. She winked at me as if to say, _I got you_. I felt my face heat up like I was blushing. Gods, what was wrong with me?

I _really_ needed to talk to Theo. He was normally very oblivious, but there were certain things that he was pretty good at noticing, and I could tell he'd been watching me recently. Once Katherine and I had scraped a bit of our food into the fire for the gods, I shot him a text asking if we could go on a walk alone after breakfast. I slid the phone back in my pocket just as Chiron came over. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all. Of course, he'd known my family for years. He was probably worried sick. He smiled thinly at me. "Elizabeth. Good morning."

"Morning," I said. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

Chiron sighed. "I'm afraid not. But don't worry about me, my dear. Now, I have a question for you. Would you meet with Gwendolyn and myself at the Big House after lunch?"

"Uh, sure?" I said uncertainly. I had a feeling he wanted to make sure I wasn't going to do anything "rash" but it also sounded like it was more than just that.

Chiron nodded. "Thank you my dear." He turned and trotted back over to the head table. He bent close to Gwendolyn and said something to her. Our Oracle turned to glance at me, waved, then returned to her meal, saying something back to Chiron. I watched Gwendolyn for a moment. She'd changed a bit over the last year. She'd started wearing normal pants recently, rather than denim skirts or shorts and leggings. She wore solid color, non-high-top sneakers now. Her orange camp shirt, which she'd always written prophecies on, was essentially completely black at this point. While missions didn't necessarily involve a prophecy, often times they got one anyway. Not to mention the fact that Gwendolyn was spending every day purposefully trying to pry into the future, to understand what was coming so we could prepare for it. It was clearly stretching her thin. Even her hair, which she'd dyed a vibrant purple this year, was starting to fade back to her natural dirty blonde.

Then there was the empty spot at the table where out director, Mr. D normally sat. Over the last two years, the gods had increasingly secluded themselves from us. Ostensibly, it was because they were busy helping out the war effort in whatever ways the ancient laws allowed, but I had my doubts about that. Their supposed efforts hadn't slowed down the demititans at all, or at least it didn't seem like it. It pissed me off. Gaius was doing everything he could to destroy the _gods_ , yet it was _us_ who had to stop him. And now my family was gone, and not a word from the gods. Never mind the fact that my mom and dad defeated Kronos for them, never mind the fact that the Seven defeated the Giants, never mind that Uncle Jason, Aunt Piper, and Uncle Leo made sure that Gaea would never rise again. Not a word from the gods about any of that. Not even from my grandfather, Poseidon, or my grandmother Athena…

Also at the head table was Uncle Grover. He stared blankly at his breakfast, hardly eating, his shoulders slumped. I couldn't see his face from where I sat, but I imagined that he looked heartbroken. Uncle Grover was my parents' closest friend. He must've been devastated. He was probably one of the few people that must've been feeling something close to what I was. The other people that maybe felt the same were my brother, Matt, Emily, Hannah, Sierra, Riley, and Augustus. I glanced over at the Ares table. Hannah was sitting between two campers I didn't really know – I think their names were Adam and Chloe, though I wasn't sure. She was smiling slightly as Adam told her a story. It was good to see that she was starting to make friends, especially considering everything that was going on.

And as I had noticed before, Augustus was conspicuously absent from the Zeus table. I knew he was at camp – after all, he'd questioned Marcus. It was almost definitely because he'd wanted to avoid the silence I'd faced when I first walked in, but there was a very slight chance that he was trying to avoid me. He had called me yesterday, which had probably been too much interaction for both of us for a while. I really was sorry for how things had turned out between Augustus and I. Our relationship had been turbulent, but it had been really good at times. But Augustus had loved me and I just didn't love him back. Besides that, I had needed time to sort things out for myself, and I really needed to be single to do that. I'd come a long way towards feeling better about myself – at least until Gaius had taken my family – but regardless, I had no intention of getting back together with Augustus.

Despite the fact that almost no one at camp actually knew my family, I could sense what had happened hanging over everyone in the dining pavilion. The Seven were the most legendary demigods in centuries. And on top of that, they'd gotten a happy ending. Campers at both camps had been inspired by them. But now they were gone, and already I could see it was having a huge effect on morale. Maybe that was why Gaius took them in the first place…

I looked around at other individual campers. At the Zeus table, Alex de Marco was pouring over some notes with his sister Vanessa. Alex and I hadn't always gotten along. The golden haired son of Zeus had had an arrogant attitude about him when I'd first arrived at camp, but ever since he was captured while on a quest – which had resulted in Augustus, Jake, and I having to go rescue him – he'd become a lot more humble and more serious. I remembered that Gaius had been trying to get information out of him about a prophecy his mother may have told. A prophecy that had been told once before, long in the past, but whose records had been entirely lost. I wondered if Gaius had found out what it said. I sort of had the feeling he did, which couldn't be good. It was just one more card Gaius held that I didn't.

Over at the Hecate table, I saw my friend Helen reading a thick spell book. As usual, Helen's dark red hair was done in an intricate plait, which I was convinced she did by magic, because it would have been way too time consuming otherwise. Her glowing yellow eyes scanned across the pages. If I had to guess, I'd say she was trying to find a way to locate her mother, who had gone missing shortly after my first quest – thanks to Gaius, of course. I was not a huge fan of Hecate, but I hoped Helen found her. Partly because I wanted her to have her mother back and partly because Hecate could actually be helpful. For a long time, Gaius had been trying to cast a spell of some kind. I wasn't sure what the spell was for, but anything Gaius wanted had to be bad for us.

Last summer had been our one chance to stop his plans for a spell. He'd been trying to get Pasiphaë, the sorceress responsible for the New Labyrinth, to help him cast his spell. I had led the quest to stop that from happening by getting to her first, but I'd failed, and Thalia had died as a result. I clenched my fists thinking about it, and about Drake, the son of Atlas who'd swung the made the killing blow. I touched my crooked nose (courtesy of my fight with Drake) almost subconsciously. He was going to pay for everything he'd done. Especially if that included holding my parents hostage.

My phone buzzed, indicating I had a text message. It was Theo. _I actually wanted to talk to you, too. Maybe about the same thing? I'll hand over my morning archery class to Jasper and we can go on a walk._

 _Thanks,_ I texted back. Around that time, people were getting up from breakfast anyway. I looked over at the Hermes table and saw Jocelyn wave at me as she led her cabin off for their first morning activity. At the same time, Katherine was getting up to go. "Take care while I'm gone, okay?" she said.

"I will," I said, getting up and hugging her. Not too far away, her teammates were already assembling. Katherine turned from me with one last worried look, then headed over to join her crew.

I sat back down at the Poseidon table and watched the Apollo one. The campers there were getting up. Theo was talking to Jasper, who nodded and proceeded to lead the rest of the cabin away. Theo came over to join me. "So," he said. "Let's go on a walk. Where do you want to go?"

"Let's follow the creek," I said on a whim. "There's a really nice spring up at the creek's source. I haven't been there in ages."

* * *

"So what did you want to talk about?" Theo asked as we made our way upstream.

I squirmed uncomfortably internally, not sure how to begin. "Well what did you want to talk about?" I stalled.

"You were the one who asked me for this walk," Theo pointed out.

"Well you were the one who was wondering if we wanted to talk about the same thing," I argued. "Why don't you start and I'll tell you whether or not you're right?"

"Fine," Theo said. "Jocelyn."

My heart thudded in my chest and my stomach churned. "What about her?" I said, my mouth suddenly dry.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Of course I like her," I said. "We're friends."

"You know what I meant," Theo said flatly. "Come on, you were the one who wanted to talk. So spill. I mean, I assume that's why you wanted me in the other room during the interrogation."

I sighed. "Yeah, that's why. And I mean… I don't know if I… It feels the same as when I liked Augustus. Or you before that. But that's the thing… I've only ever _liked_ … well guys. How could I just suddenly have a crush on a girl?"

Theo was silent for a moment, thinking of a response. "Well," he said slowly, "I can think of a couple of things. The first is that your sexuality may have changed. Sometimes that can happen during puberty. Your sexuality isn't totally set in stone until adulthood. But… I don't know that that's the likely reason. Usually if your sexuality changes, it changes very little. It's uncommon to become attracted to a sex that you were never remotely attracted to before. It's more common to become either more or less attracted to a sex that you were already attracted to."

"So you don't think my sexuality changing explains it?" I asked.

"No," Theo said. "I think it's a lot more likely that you always liked girls and just didn't realize it."

"How could I not realize it?" I asked. "I mean, I feel like this is the type of thing one knows about themselves."

"Well it isn't always so easy," Theo said. "Especially for girls. There've actually been some studies about it. See, since it's more socially acceptable for girls to show affection to each other than for guys to, sometimes girls don't realize that their feelings are anything more than just normal friendly ones. And I know that neither you or Jocelyn has ever been super touchy-feely, but even so, it's possible that you mistook signs that you _liked_ her for normal signs of friendliness."

"But even if that's the case," I said, "how come Jocelyn is the only girl I've ever liked?"

"She probably isn't," Theo pointed out. "Again, you might've had feelings for other girls before and not realized what it was. I mean, think about it. Taking what I just told you into account, have you ever had a crush on any other girls?"

I hesitated, thinking about it. Had I? I mean, I'd never really thought anything of it, especially since the only major crushes I'd had before had been on boys, but… "Maybe Sierra," I said. "Before I came here, to Camp Half-Blood and she went to Camp Jupiter."

Theo nodded. "Yeah, I thought maybe you'd say that. How about celebrity crushes? Ever had a crush on a female celebrity?"

"Everyone has crushes on same-sex celebrities, that's normal," I said.

"If by normal, you mean typical for heterosexuals, maybe," Theo said. " _But_ it probably depends on the level of crush. Like, there are some really _hot_ female celebrities. But I would never… you know… play baseball with them. Cause I'm into dudes."

"'Play baseball?'" I asked incredulously. " _That's_ the metaphor you're going to go with?"

"You know what I mean," Theo said hotly. "And for the record, that is a _very_ common metaphor. So tell me. Are there any female celebrities you've ever thought about… playing baseball with."

I sighed, thinking about that one, too. "I guess, maybe," I said slowly. "You know those old Avengers movies?"

"Sure," Theo said. "They're classics."

"Well I was _really_ into Black Widow for some reason," I said. "I'm not sure if I had a thing for her, but…" Suddenly I remembered a few scenes from those movies more clearly. "Never mind," I said blushing. "I'd uh… play baseball with Black Widow."

Theo laughed. "I can hardly blame you there."

"Okay, so I like girls," I said. "But that doesn't explain why I suddenly like Jocelyn in particular. Why am I just starting to like her now… or well, recently, anyway?"

Theo shrugged. "Well you've liked other people ever since you've known her. First me and then Augustus. So that might've distracted you. Maybe Jocelyn is the most recent crush you've had. Or maybe you've liked her for a while and hadn't realized it. Any signs in retrospect that might point to you liking her?"

I thought about it. Suddenly, I remembered something from last summer. "When I had panic attacks around you guys," I said slowly, "Jocelyn's voice was the only thing that could get through to me."

Theo looked over at me, his eyebrows high. "That would be a pretty big sign."

"I didn't really think of it like that when it was happening," I said. "But, yeah. Probably should have clued me in."

"Speaking of panic attacks," Theo said, "how've those been?"

I thought about the one I had last night and the extremely disturbing images I'd seen. My stomach turned over. "Uh, I haven't had one in months," I lied.

"That's fantastic, Elizabeth," Theo said. "So therapy has been working, I take it?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said uncomfortably. "Look, can we get back to the Jocelyn subject? I don't really want to talk about this."

"Oh, right, sorry," Theo said.

We walked upstream in silence for a couple minutes. The creek bed was becoming like a ravine. The trees overhead made it look like it was night, even though it was like nine thirty. Finally, the creek widened into a pool ten feet in diameter. Sunlight came down from overhead, and a six foot waterfall sparkled opposite us.

"Wow," Theo said softly. "This place is beautiful."

I climbed onto a rock at the edge of the pool. "Yeah, Katherine showed it to me my first year. This is where I practiced controlling my powers. No one ever comes up here."

Theo climbed up onto the rock next to me. "Well, I might have to now," he said.

"I haven't been here in ages," I said. "Not since I stopped practicing my powers with Katherine… But anyway, back to Jocelyn. I just have… I have a question. Do you… Do you think that Jocelyn likes me, too?"

Theo frowned, thinking. "I wish I could give you an easy answer, but honestly, I can't tell. Jocelyn has never been the most open person, you know that. She's never said anything to me about having a crush on someone or finding someone hot or even whether she likes guys or girls or both or neither. What I do know is this: she feels closer to you than anyone else, even me."

My heart pounded. "She… she does?"

Theo nodded. "The thing is, though, I can't tell if that's purely platonic in nature or if there's romantic undertones to how she feels about you."

I sighed. "Well… thanks anyway, I guess."

"Hey, that sounds like you're giving up," Theo said. "You should tell her how you feel. You never know, it might work out. It worked out with Jake and me."

I thought about my plan. I was going to be running away tonight. And with Jocelyn's trust issues, if I did that… well she wouldn't feel so close to me anymore. It might ruin any chance I had with her, if I had one at all to begin with… That idea hurt. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to give up on my plan. I had to do something to help my family. There had to be clues that I could follow, if only I was smart enough to find them. But I couldn't say any of that to Theo. "Maybe," I said. "It's sort of scary, though. I'll have to think about how I want to do it."

"Well, if you want my help, let me know," he said smiling. I smiled back, but feelings of guilt were stirring pretty strongly within me. Theo and Jocelyn were my best friends in the world, and I was breaking their trust. But what exactly did they expect me to do? I couldn't just sit around while my parents were missing. I had to do something, even if that meant running away and hurting my friends.

* * *

After lunch, I went up to the Big House. Gwendolyn and Chiron were waiting for me. Gwendolyn was sitting at the table, Chiron was in his wheelchair form. I sat down with them. They both smiled weakly at me. "Elizabeth," Gwendolyn said. "Hi. Welcome back."

"Thanks," I said. "So… you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, for two reasons," Chiron said. "Firstly, we wanted to check and make sure that you were doing alright… or as alright as you can be doing, anyway."

"We wanna make sure you aren't going to do something drastic," Gwendolyn added.

 _Then you probably won't like what I'm planning to do tonight_ , I thought. "I'm hanging in there," I said aloud. "It just sucks that Marcus didn't give us a concrete lead on where they are."

"Yes, that is incredibly unfortunate," Chiron sighed. "Still, it is possible that they are at Boldt Castle. And we already have plenty of people searching for them. I just got off an IM with Nico di Angelo, who is already well into his search for them. Grover left on his own search about an hour ago. Out on the west coast, Reyna is conducting a search of her own."

"Not to mention that I and everyone else with the Sight we're in contact with are prying into the future for hints as to their location," Gwendolyn put in. "We'll find them, no matter where they are."

I nodded, but didn't say anything. It hardly matter to me that all those other people were looking for my family, because _I_ wasn't. I was just sitting at camp useless while other people looked for them. "So the other thing you wanted to talk to me about," I said, changing the subject. "What is it?"

Gwendolyn and Chiron glanced at each other. Gwendolyn spoke up first, "Did Theo mention anything to you about some visions he might've had?"

"Jocelyn told me about that," I said. "But Theo hasn't said anything about the visions' content to either of us."

"No, he hasn't told anyone else, either," Chiron said.

"I was hoping you knew, but it's okay that you don't," Gwendolyn said. "It just would've been nice to compare notes between Theo's visions and my own."

"And… what have your visions been about?" I asked.

Gwendolyn hesitated. "They haven't been very clear. But they haven't been great. The war is only going to get worse. There is one specific that I discovered, though. And that's what I wanted to tell you."

"And what's that?" I asked uneasily.

"The last line from your prophecy last summer," Gwendolyn said. "It's finally going to come to pass. Soon."

I raised my eyebrows. My prophecy from last summer had been… less than good. The lines were still drilled into my head. _Five shall go into the maze To cease the witch's endless days. No matter how hard the heroes try, At the end a friend will die. Ultimately, the quest shall fail: The son of Kronos shall destroy the veil._ That prophecy had been the worst one I'd ever received. I mean, I'd only ever had two, but whatever. Anyway, that prophecy had consumed me with fear and paranoia over which of my friends would die. But at the end, it hadn't been any of the people I'd thought were at risk. It had been Thalia. The thought of it still made me sick. And at night I still had nightmares where it happened again. Now it looked like that prophecy would finally come to a close after almost a year. "So what does it mean?" I asked. "The veil line, I mean."

"I don't know," Gwendolyn moaned. "I just don't have the specifics. I only know it will come to pass soon."

I sighed. Everything seemed to be happening all at once, and it couldn't be a coincidence. There was no such thing as coincidences.

"I imagine that you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that's going on," Chiron said. "And I cannot blame you. But hold out hope. The war is not over yet, and we are still strong."

I wasn't so sure about the hope thing. The demititans were basically an unstoppable juggernaut. And now they had my parents and the rest of the Seven. They were the most powerful heroes I knew. If they didn't stand a chance, what hope did the rest of us have…?

* * *

The representatives from Camp Jupiter arrived at dinner time: Sierra and one Centurion from each Cohort. I'd hoped Matt would have been the one to represent the Fifth, but instead it was Amalia. Amy was great and all, don't get me wrong, but I really wanted to see my brother. He would get what I was feeling better than anyone.

Sierra was looking frazzled. Her chocolate brown hair was frizzy, her typically perfectly tan skin was kinda pale. No doubt the disappearance of our families combined with the Praetor job were pushing her to her limits. Still, she looked beautiful as always, no doubt because of her Aphrodite ancestry. I surveyed her with interest, trying to test out what Theo and I had discussed earlier. To my surprise, I did feel a couple butterflies flutter weakly in my stomach. It wasn't strong enough that I would've noticed it if I hadn't specifically been paying attention to it. But there was something there, or at least there had been at one point. Sierra met my eyes and smiled weakly. I waved at her as she went to join the Zeus table. She sat down next to Augustus, who had actually shown up to this meal. They hugged briefly, then sat talking with their heads close together.

Amy looked around slightly confused. There was no Greek equivalent to Bellona, so she had no official spot to sit down. I waved her over to my table, since I was eating alone. Amy looked a whole lot like her mother, Reyna. They both had the same skin tone, the same dark hair, the same intense dark eyes, and the same athletic build. Personality wise, though, she was more like her father, Adrian. While she could occasionally display the same type of intensity Reyna, she was also more outgoing and open, like her father. When she made it over to me, she looked distraught. "Hey, Elizabeth," she said weakly. "How are you?"

"I'm managing," I said. "How's Matt?"

Amy looked down. It was a pretty well known fact that my brother and Amy had a thing for each other, but so far neither of them had made a move. It had looked like Amy might make the first move at the annual Christmas party, but she lost her nerve at the last second. Part of that had been my fault. Augustus and I had gotten in a pretty big fight, despite everyone's best attempts to keep us away from each other. I felt a little guilty about that, but it was too late to change now. And regardless, Amy had had six months to try and tell Matt again. As had Matt. But neither of them was doing anything about it.

"Matt's not doing too well," Amy said. "He's become really… intense. I mean, I know it's only been a day, so it's difficult to tell for sure. But yesterday, he barely said a word to me that wasn't related to being Centurion."

I sighed. I'd expected as much. I nodded over to the Zeus table. "And Sierra? How's she doing?"

Amy looked over. "Not well either," she said lowly. "It hit her pretty hard when she heard. She didn't leave the _Principia_ all day."

"Emily and Riley?"

Amy shook her head. "They're pretty upset, too. We all are. I mean, it's a lot to handle. Hell, I'm barely holding it together. I can't imagine how you feel."

No, she couldn't. It was worse than anyone else realized. My visions flashed through my head briefly and my chest tightened. "It is a lot to handle. But listen, I don't know that I can really talk about this right now. So uh… you and Matt. Where does all of that stand now?"

Amy blushed slightly. "Nowhere new. I keep trying to work up the courage to tell him and I keep chickening out. Does that make me a coward?"

I thought about my feelings for Jocelyn. I glanced over at the Hermes table almost without meaning to. "No, it doesn't," I assured her. "It's a normal thing to be afraid of."

"I guess," Amy sighed. "It'd be easier if he would make the first move, but I don't think that's going to happen anymore. The war is only getting more intense, and he's only throwing himself more into being Centurion. And with your folks and the rest of the Seven gone…"

Matt wouldn't be willing to spare any time for romance. I understood that. I mean, I was essentially turning my back on all of my friends and whatever potential Jocelyn and I _might_ have to go looking for my family. Matt's solution was different, but the cause was the same. He had to do something. I was running away. He was working harder than ever. Still, I wasn't going to tell any of that to Amy. "He'll come around eventually. He's just worried right now. We all are."

* * *

I didn't get the chance to talk to Sierra until right before the war council meeting. As the various counselors and Centurions filled up the room in Bunker Nine where we had the meetings, Sierra came over to where I stood. "Hey," she said weakly, holding her arms out for a hug. I wasn't particularly feeling like hugging anyone just then, but I could tell that Sierra needed one, so I hugged her back. "Hanging in there?" she asked.

"As well as I can," I replied. "How about you?"

"Not so well, but I'm holding it together," she said. "It's just… unthinkable. What happened, I mean. I know it's silly, but I always thought our parents were… I don't know…"

"Untouchable?" I suggested. "I know. I felt the same way."

Spencer and Elesa were taking their place at the head of the table. Sierra excused herself and went up front to join them. Spencer moved aside slightly, allowing Sierra to stand between him and the daughter of Athena. Elesa looked unfazed, like always. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun, her stormy grey eyes – exactly like my own – glittered. Theo and Jocelyn filed into the room and took a spot on either side of me. Chiron and Gwendolyn took their spots at the front - often, they didn't say much at these meetings, but they still attended to stay up to date on the plan - and the meeting began.

"Alright," Elesa said with her British accented voice. "We all know why we are here. Let's cut to the chase. Yesterday, Elizabeth Jackson, Jocelyn Clement, and Theo Solaris led a mission to capture one of the demititan commanders, Marcus, a son of Prometheus. He's proven… difficult to interrogate. But with efforts by Augustus Grace last night and other charmspeakers today, this is what we know." She pressed a button on a remote and the huge television behind her lit up with Google maps. At the bottom right of the image was a town labeled Alexandria Bay. The town sat right on the waterfront of the St. Lawrence Seaway. At the top left of the image were several islands. But right in the middle was an island labeled Heart Island. "The demititans have a base here, on Heart Island," Elesa went on. "You may have heard of Boldt Castle, which was built on that island, and is a huge tourist destination. Well the demititans control it and are using the island and the castle as a base of operations from which to amass their monster army."

"According to Marcus," Spencer added, "the demititan in charge of their Boldt Castle headquarters is a son of Atlas by the name of Drake." Across the table from me, I saw Alex de Marco scowl and look down at the table. Two summers ago, Drake had tortured him. I understood why the name would bring up such strong feelings in the son of Zeus.

"How were the demititans able to take over Boldt Castle without anyone realizing what was going on?" asked Leila, a Centurion for the Third Cohort.

"The Mist," Jocelyn answered next to me. "The residents of all the nearby towns are being heavily manipulated by the Mist. And they've put out word online that Boldt Castle will be closed indefinitely for renovations. As for how they managed to avoid alerting us... well we still don't have a reliable way of spying on them. We're lucky to get what little information we do."

"Do we know if there are any other demititan commanders at Boldt Castle?" asked Dan. "Besides Drake, I mean."

"Not so far as we know," Spencer said. "But it's possible that there's someone besides Drake there. We won't know for sure until we do something about it."

"So what are you suggesting we 'do about it?'" Alex asked.

"A full scale assault," Sierra said. "Both of our camps."

There was silence for a moment, then all Hades broke loose. Everyone began talking at once, yelling over each other, trying to make their point or question heard. Jocelyn leaned close to me and whispered, "Look how organized we are. Isn't it wonderful?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, but I managed to nod. War council meetings often ended up like this. There was just too much disagreement between everyone. "Shut it!" Spencer yelled. "I know you all have questions, but we can't address them when everyone is speaking at once. Let's behave like the disciplined heroes we all are and talk _one at a time_."

"Between our two camps, we have roughly four hundred campers," Sierra said, preempting anyone asking questions. "That's a huge force, but from the sounds of it, Drake is amassing thousands of monsters. We'll need every troop we can get. We've got to take them out. Who knows what the demititans can do with that many monsters? We've got to strike before Gaius can cause trouble with them."

"I agree that we've got to take those monsters out," Alex said. "But we can't bring every single camper we have. What about the younger ones? There are a couple of kids in my cabin that are barely ten. Do you expect them to fight? And what about the campers who've just arrived and haven't been trained?"

"Thirteen," I spoke up. Everyone looked over at me, confused. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Uh, thirteen is typically the age where demigods start attracting monsters, right? And that's usually the age that kids are when they first get here. That's when we typically consider demigods and legacies capable of taking care of themselves against monsters. So how about everyone thirteen and up goes? Anyone younger can stay behind, help defend camp. That still leaves us with… probably about three hundred and fifty troops."

There were mutterings of agreement around the table. Helen was the first to fully speak up. "Elizabeth makes an excellent point," she said in her singsong voice. "Those under thirteen should not be taken into a war zone."

"That doesn't solve my other issue," Alex said. "What about new campers?"

"We aren't suggesting we go on this mission tomorrow or even next week," Spencer said. "It will take a great deal of time to get everyone and everything ready. That includes training the new campers."

"Another issue, then," Jake said. "The logistics of this are… well, a nightmare. I mean, Boldt Castle isn't exactly close by. And we're talking about moving three hundred and fifty assorted demigods and legacies cross country, not to mention the equipment. How are we supposed to do all that? Especially with the Legion coming all the way from California."

"We'll relocate here before we head to Boldt Castle," Sierra said. "We'll set up our whole camp here. Romans are kind of expert engineers. Our veterans will defend our territory out in California."

"Even so," Jake said. "Three hundred and fifty campers and assorted weapons and equipment… that's a lot, even from Long Island. How are we going to transport everyone and everything there?"

"The Hermes cabin can handle that part," Jocelyn said. "We'd all be leaving from here, right? Well we don't exactly want to travel over land to Boldt Castle. We'd draw way too much attention to ourselves that way, not to mention that there's no practical way to transport that many people over land without a train. And there aren't any train lines that will get us close to Boldt Castle. No, our best bet would be to travel by water. It's pretty common for cruises to go down the St. Lawrence Seaway, which empties into the Atlantic. We can get there easily from here. Those river cruise ships have a capacity of like… two hundred passengers, not counting crew space. The Hermes cabin can… acquire two such cruise ships. That should be more than enough room to fit our whole army plus all of our equipment. Then we just sail up the coast to where the St. Lawrence dumps into the ocean and follow the river all the way to Boldt Castle."

Everyone looked around at each other, considering it. I gave Jocelyn a thumbs up. Her idea was a good one. She gave me a cocky grin in reply. Elesa spoke up, "That's a good solution to the logistics of transportation. However, we still have much to plan. Our battle strategy for one."

"I have a question," Theo said. "How soon, exactly, are we trying to leave for this battle?"

Sierra, Spencer, and Elesa all looked at each other. "By the middle of July," Spencer said. "That gives us just over a month to prepare. It should be enough time to get ready."

The room was still for a moment. Then, "A month?" Jocelyn asked incredulously. "I mean, I know prepping will take time, but a month is too long. I mean, look, I know we've been avoiding it, but let's talk about the elephant in the room for a moment. The Seven have been kidnapped." The air in the room was suddenly thick with tension. I could almost cut it with a knife. Everyone in looked at either me or Sierra, as we were the only two children of the Seven at the meeting. I shifted uncomfortably. "If they _are_ being held at Boldt Castle, a month is too long to wait."

"We can't exactly get what we need to get done faster than that," Sierra said, forcing a calm tone, though I could see that she was shaking. "And there are currently lots of teams searching. We'll just have to hold out hope that one of the teams searching finds them or that they're at Boldt Castle." There was that hope word again. I couldn't exactly muster it up, myself, but I knew Sierra needed it, so I didn't say anything.

Chiron nodded. "The Seven will be okay. We'll find them and rescue them."

"We do have another issue," Alex said. "It's not unconnected, though. See, the demititans knew what our movements would be. That's why they were able to kidnap the Seven without alerting anyone. They knew that Elizabeth wouldn't be at home. They knew that Hannah Zhang would be on a plane to New York yesterday. Somehow, they even knew what Augustus was doing and when. They couldn't exactly have just happened upon that information. Someone must have told them. We have a traitor."

Everyone started babbling all at once all over again. My head spun. It made sense, of course. But I'd been so focused on my parents and the others that the thought of a potential traitor hadn't even occurred to me. Meanwhile, everyone was throwing around names, pointing fingers at each other. "Quiet!" Elesa shouted. "Look, we don't have any conclusive evidence that there is a traitor, though it may seem likely. Until we have some proof –"

"I bet it was someone from the Hecate cabin," said Ariana, head of the Hebe cabin with reddish-brown hair. "Isn't Hecate technically a Titan? It would only make sense that her kids would be helping out those like them."

"No one from Hecate is a traitor," Helen said hotly. She didn't get riled up easily, so she must've been really pissed. "We have done nothing wrong! You're accusing us because you don't understand magic and it scares you."

Ariana opened her mouth to respond, but I cut across the argument, "We have no reason to suspect Helen or anyone else from the Hecate cabin."

"Pointing fingers doesn't help anyone," Amy said. "We _might_ have a traitor, but it's not like we have any clues as to who it might be. We just have to proceed cautiously and stay vigilant. Watch each other for suspicious activity. That's the best we can do right now."

Everyone fell silent. "Well, I think it's time we call it an evening," Chiron said wearily. "We can continue to hash out specifics of your plan as the time for action gets closer. For now, everyone should make their way to the campfire." Even though he technically didn't control the war council, everyone murmured in agreement and began filing out of the room.

Jocelyn and Theo turned to me, their faces drawn. "That was a shit show," Jocelyn muttered. But she forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood - no doubt for my sake. "I could use a good ole' fashioned smore after that."

"No kidding," Theo said.

I hesitated, then said, "Yeah, a smore would be nice after all that nonsense." It was best that I acted normal, because otherwise Theo and Jocelyn might catch on to the fact that I hadn't actually dropped my plan...

* * *

I waited until two in the morning before I tried to sneak off site. Amy was bunking with me for the night, which made my escape slightly trickier. She'd asked if she could crash with me, and I didn't want to say no because one, that would've been rude, and two, that would've been suspicious. But I managed to put on my clothes, glove, and jacket, shoulder my bag, strap my sword to my waist, and proceed out the door without making a sound.

I crept across camp silent as a ninja. I made it all the way to the driver's seat of my car before I hit my first snag. I grabbed for my seat belt but my hand wrapped around… "A vine?"

Suddenly, thick vines encircled me. They erupted out of the seat behind me. More vines shot out of the ignition, wrapping around my steering wheel and up my arms. I let out a strangled scream. My nose filled with the scent of grapes. "Going somewhere?" a familiar grumpy voice asked. I looked over at the passenger seat. An overweight man with curly black hair sat there. His cheeks and nose were bright red, like he was really drunk. He wore shorts, long black socks, and, worst of all, a leopard print Hawaiian shirt. I _hated_ Hawaiian shirts with a burning fiery passion. I was hardly more of a fan of the man wearing the shirt.

"Mr. D?" I asked incredulously.

* * *

 **AN: And that's it for now! Like I said, I will be cutting back to one upload a week, so keep that in mind. The next chapter should be up on either Wednesday or Thursday. See you guys then!**


	5. Chapter 5: A Magic Goat Visits My Dream

**AN: Hey guys! I'm back with chapter 5! As always, thank you guys so much for all of your support. I really appreciate it, especially with my life as crazy as it is right now. So now, it's time for review responses.**

 **First, from UtilitarianShank: "** **The traitor is Alex Marco, isn't it?"  
A: You'll have to wait to find out.**

 **From Person: "Okay...I'm not a big fan of Elizabeth x Jocelyn, sorry not a fan but it's not my story (though I wish it was). I am a little confused. Are you going to upload this week or next week? Just wondering. I know Augustus and Elizabeth will never be a thing but friends...** **Great story and please try to update whenever you can. I may have to stop the end of the world to read the next chapter of the Elizabeth Jackson books. Yep...I'm addicted. Congrats!"  
A: I'm sorry that you're not a fan of Elizabeth x Jocelyn. But that's okay, there's a lot going on besides that! And sorry I was confusing about when uploads will be. But basically once a week. At any rate, I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story so much!**

 **From SilverAngelo: "OMG SHIT JUST GOT REAL. WE NEED TO FIX THIS. LIKE, NOW. MR D, WHAT THE F**K U DOIN THERE?!"  
A: You'll find out what Mr. D is doing there soon enough.**

 **Also from SilverAngelo: "Ok, so if there is a mole, then why would everyone suspect that it was someone from a cabin that they are unaccustomed to? It would be much quicker if they just figured out what, when, how, where, and who is going to that Castle and then beat the shit out of them bitchy ass monsters! Can I join the fight with my favorite fictional characters? WELL NAH SHIT I CAN CUZ THEY IZ FICTIONAL AND SO IZ I!"  
A: It's easier for people to blame something they don't understand (as far as the mole situation goes). And don't worry, they'll hash out the details of assaulting the castle. And if you can get into the story, you're welcome to join the fight, lol.**

 **One last one from SilverAngelo: "ELIZABETH, YOU ARENT ALLOWED TO BE GAY ANYMORE. ELIZATUS MUST BECOME CANON ONCE AGAIN. (Though, personally, I think that it is adorable to have a gay female protagonist, but I still like the original canon ship)"  
A: So funnily enough, Elizabeth's love life is one of the first things I planned out for this series, long before I started posting book 1. I have always had a very clear trajectory for who Elizabeth would like, when and whether she'd end up dating them, and who she'd end up with at the end. I won't tell you who it is, but what I will say on the Elizabeth x Jocelyn matter is that I've always planned on shipping them around this time in the series and I've been hinting at it for a while, but it was always very minor/vague because Elizabeth didn't even realize she liked girls until very recently. But anyway, I rambled a bit here. The point is, I know where I'm going with Elizabeth's love life, and I hope you end up liking it a lot.**

 **From Percabeth2001: "NO MORE CLIFFHANGERS! My story is already getting people hate me because of cliffhangers. I don't want anymore surprises. Well I pretty sure Elizabeth is going to tell Mr. D about her plan. Like whay Percy did in the Titans Curse to help look for Annabeth and Mr. D stopped him. Then he is going to let Elizabeth go and find her family maybe take Matt with her to find her parents. That's my guess"  
A: But cliffhangers are so much fun! They'll let up a bit in a few chapters. In fact, I don't think this chapter has a particularly cliffhanger-y ending (though you may disagree). And you're about to see how the Elizabeth/Mr. D conversation goes in just a moment.**

 **From RockRoy: "Ooh the God of Grumpiness returns :) I wanna know what happens next... And the Mech Suits, they need some action too. Sorry to hear about the workload, hope everything works out."  
A: You'll find out what happens next soon enough. As for the Mech Suits... they'll get action in their time. And thank you for your well-wishes. Things are a bit better now that I've decided to cut back to one upload a week. A lot less stressful.**

 **From the-only-soldier-left: "Ha! This is like in Titan's Curse"  
A: That it is!**

 **From cghe: "So you basically switched around books 3 and 4: With the maze and important people captured (Artemis, Annabeth/The seven) and the Mr. D reference and...? Is it going to be more like Titan's Curse?"  
A: For 3 and 4 in this series, I reference elements from both 3 and 4 from the original series. Like in Magician's Maze, there are five people on the quest just like Titan's Curse and there's a final battle on Mount Tamalpais. The Lieutenant of the Hunters even dies. But obviously the Labyrinth played a big role, like in BotL. And on the flipside, in this one, as you've pointed out, there are a lot of Titan's Curse references, but there are also a lot of Battle of the Labyrinth callbacks, but I won't get into that because spoilers.**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "I lost it at play baseball"  
A: Hahaha, yeah I had fun writing that part.**

 **From Unicute17: "As much as I LOVE Jocabeth will Elizabeth have any other relationships?"  
A: You'll have to wait and find out.**

 **Also from Unicute17: "Also how do you write like you are Elizabeth herself?"  
A: I'm not sure I entirely understand your question, but I will do my best to answer it! Whenever I sit down to write this story, I have to get myself into the right mindset. Which is why I often start _thinking_ about Elizabeth Jackson well before I actually get a chance to sit down and start writing. It's also why I always try to draft a chapter before I write the version that I end up posting. Anyway, once I sit down and start writing, I immerse myself in Elizabeth's mind. And once I get going, it's pretty easy to keep going. And it's not real hard to get into her head, either because a) I created Elizabeth and b) a lot of the things going on in Elizabeth's head have been informed by either my own experiences or the experiences of people that I'm close to. So yeah. I hope that answered your question.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "*shakes head* Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. You know better than to sneak out of camp, at night too. she almost deserved getting caught by Mr. D. And I've also noticed that Elizabeth detests shortened verisons of her name, like me. My real name is Victoria, and I HATE people calling me, Vicki, Viki, Vici, Vic ect.,"  
A: Yeah, well she isn't necessarily thinking super clearly. And I totally get abhorring shortened forms of your name! Not really from my own life, but from people I know. So I thought it would be a fun element to add to Elizabeth's personality.**

 **Alright, that's all the reviews I'm going to respond to now. NOW it's time for the chapter. Enjoy and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Magic Goat Visits My Dream

"What the Styx are you doing here?" I asked incredulously.

"This is _my_ camp Ellie Jensen," Mr. D growled. "Or did you forget that?"

I laughed darkly. "With all due _dis_ respect, sir, you've barely been at _your_ camp this whole last year. What exactly have you been doing all this time?"

"We gods have been helping you out with your pitiful war effort," he said.

"Oh yeah, and it's been doing a _whole_ lot of good," I said sarcastically.

"You demigods and legacies are all alike," Mr. D snarled. "Ungrateful brats. Has it not occurred to you that you'd be in much more dire straits if not for the gods? We have been keeping the worst monsters and the demititans' most dangerous family members in Tartarus. Do you think that has been easy?"

"Whatever," I said. "Even if I believe that, it still doesn't give you the right to just show up in my passenger seat and act like you're the boss of me. _You haven't been around_. So what do you care if I run away to search for my family? Look, I have to do this. I can't just stop caring about my family. But then, I guess that's something you wouldn't understand."

"Oh I wouldn't, would I?" he said, his voice deadly quiet. "I don't suppose your father ever told you about _my_ family, hm? It didn't affect him, so why should he care? Typical demigod behavior."

"Don't talk about my father like that!"

"I'll talk any way I want," Mr. D growled. His eyes were literally flaming now. The vines around my chest constricted painfully. I was pretty sure a rib cracked. "I'm a god, girl. Don't forget that for a second. And your father is no better than all the other selfish, arrogant heroes. I don't suppose he ever told you about my son, Castor, did he?"

"Castor?" I asked, choking out the name. The vines around my chest were making it nearly impossible for me to breath.

"That's right," Mr. D said softly, that dangerous edge still in his voice. "My beloved son. He _died_ fighting for your father, fighting for this camp. But no one remembers my son's name, or that he gave his life. Or what about my son Dakota? He was Centurion of the Fifth Cohort and if not for his actions, causing a distraction, the Legion would have destroyed Camp Half-Blood shortly before being destroyed themselves by a fully risen Gaea. But no one remembers the pivotal role that Dakota played."

I was silent for a moment, partially because I couldn't breathe, but mostly because I was stunned. I had never heard of either Castor or Dakota. They hadn't come up in any of my parents' stories. How could Mom and Dad have forgotten to tell me about them? And then there was the way Mr. D spoke about them. He cared about his children, deeply. He didn't have many of them – there weren't any at Camp Half-Blood right now – but the bitterness I heard in his voice about the demigod community's failure to honor them rightfully astonished me. "Look, I'm really sorry that your children were not commemorated as they should have been. That's wrong. They deserve to be recognized. But there are lives on the line. I'm trying to do something about it, and I don't know why you care that I am."

"I care because you're just like every other hero," Mr. D said. "You believe yourself to be above the rules. Someone has to knock you heroes down a few pegs every once in a while. Besides which, every time one of you brats does something stupid to get yourself killed, father makes me fill out nauseating amounts of paperwork and he lectures me like, 'you should have stopped them, you could have done more, you need to take your job more seriously, yadda yadda yadda.'"

"Glad to hear how much you care about me," I said flatly. "It's really heartwarming."

"Look, Johannes," he said, "you know full well that this foolhardy trip of yours won't lead to any real results. Or at least, you would realize that if you actually stopped to think. But no, you're far too _impulsive_ for that."

My world spun. Three summers ago, Athena had told me that my fatal flaw was impulsivity, especially when combined with being emotional. And now here was Dionysus using the exact same language. It should have been enough to give me pause, make me think hard about what I was planning on doing, but I was determined. "I'm still going," I said. "I have to find my family. I have to do _something_."

Mr. D laughed harshly. "And do you think that no one else is doing anything? The arrogance of heroes never ceases to amaze me. You think that unless you do something personally, then nothing is going to happen? Trust me, Edith, you're just one of many heroes. There is nothing extraordinary or special about you."

I almost wanted to argue that according to a prophecy about me and according to several of the other gods, there _was_ something special about me, at least in the context of the demititan war, but for once in my life I actually kept my mouth shut. Instead, when I did speak, I said, "That may be the case, Mr. D, but I still have to try and save my family. If I don't and something happens to them… I just really need to do this, Mr. D. Please, just let me go."

Mr. D sighed, but he snapped his fingers and the vines around me disappeared. I gasped, finally able to take in a lungfull of air. "Fine," he said. "Go on your little quest if you must, Elizabeth Jackson. And while you're at it, put some thought into what the 'fatal' part of _fatal flaw_ means."

And suddenly he was gone, leaving behind the faint scent of grapes. I shifted uneasily in my seat. I think the most disturbing part was that he'd used my actual name at the end. That _couldn't_ be a good sign. Nevertheless, I wasn't about to give up on my mission. Things sounded ominous, sure, but I still had to do something. I reversed out of my parking spot and took off back towards New York.

* * *

By the time I made it back to the apartment, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep right on the broken couch. Unfortunately, I dreamt.

In my dream, I found myself walking down a plain hallway, windows to my left and doorways and halls to my right. The windows looked out on a forest of evergreens and a night sky. Walking down the hall alongside my dream self were three figures, and I knew that what I was dreaming about must have occurred in the past because Marcus was there. I recognized the other two figures, as well. One was a woman in full demititan uniform. She had auburn hair and perfectly tanned skin, a few freckles splayed across her nose the only imperfections to be seen. Her eyes glowed like miniature suns. Eliana, Gaius's second in command. And, as usual, she was focused on the third figure – Gaius.

Gaius. The son of Kronos / the son of Luke Castellan, the leader of the demititans, and the person I hated most in the world. He looked so much like Luke that the two could have been identical twins. Even though I'd never seen Luke in person – on account of him being dead and all – the dreams I'd had over the last couple of years were enough to make me memorize how the son of Hermes looked. Gaius had the same sandy blond hair as Luke, the same athletic figure, the same skin tone. His eyes, however, were not Luke's natural color. Rather, Gaius's eyes were the exact shade of gold that Luke's had been after he was possessed by Kronos. That was one of the only things Gaius had inherited from Kronos, as far as I could tell. Aside from the Titan force thingy, I didn't think Gaius had any other special powers. None that I'd witnessed, anyway.

"…and our source inside Camp Half-Blood told me that there will be a mission to capture Marcus," Eliana was saying. "Elizabeth Jackson will be leading it." So, there _was_ a traitor at Camp Half-Blood. That was good information to have, though I still had no idea who it could possibly be.

Gaius considered this. Marcus cleared his throat somewhat nervously. "So I'll have to stay here at headquarters, then. Just to be safe."

"No," Gaius said thoughtfully, "we're going to let them capture you." I saw the plan coming together in his eyes. It had worked out remarkably well, as Gaius's plans so often did.

"But sir – "

"If your movement suddenly cease, if you begin hiding away here, that will clue them in to the fact that we have a mole at their camp," Gaius said. "We can't have that. We don't need our mole much longer, should everything go according to plan, but I want to leave their cover intact as long as possible. No, you must proceed normally with you assignments."

"Sir, please think about this," Marcus said. "Letting the demigods capture me would do us… would do _you_ far more harm than revealing the fact that we have an informant amongst them."

"Gaius," Eliana said, looking at Marcus with distinct distaste, "you know how little I care for Marcus," Marcus rolled his eyes, "but I must agree with him. It seems incredibly dangerous to just let them capture Marcus. He knows so much. If the demigods got the information out of him… well, what could be worth risking that?"

"The Seven," Gaius said hungrily. Eliana and Marcus shared a confused look.

"What does letting the demigods capture Marcus have to do with the Seven?" Eliana asked.

"If Elizabeth is busy chasing down Marcus, that means she won't be at home," he said. "She won't be in the way, which means we'll be free to move in and strike the Seven."

Marcus and Eliana shared another dubious look. "Gaius," Eliana said slowly, "I know that you think capturing the Seven would be a big step towards defeating the demigods. It would get them out of the way, it would demoralize all the other demigods… but think of all the things Marcus knows. They have charmspeakers. They could cripple our plans."

"You're both familiar with Scarlett, correct?" Gaius said.

"Daughter of Klymene," Marcus said. "She's helping prepare for Project Veil. What about her?"

"As you may know, she is a charmspeaker," Gaius said. "And more importantly, she can train you to resist charmspeak. It's impossible to be one hundred percent invulnerable to charmspeak, but we'll start cutting you out of meetings, make sure that you don't know too much." A hurt look crossed Marcus's face. "That's not a problem, is it?" Gaius asked, his voice hardening suddenly.

"No sir," Marcus said quickly. "I just feel that I would be more helpful to you here."

"My decision is made," Gaius said sharply. "Tomorrow you will go see Scarlett for your first anti-charmspeak lesson."

"A-as you wish, sir," Marcus said.

"Good," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see the twins, check on their progressive with Pasiphaë." He turned on his heel and strode away briskly.

After he was gone, Eliana turned to Marcus. "This is precisely what we wanted to avoid."

"Come off it," Marcus said. "You're ecstatic that he's throwing me to the demigods like bait."

"Personally? Yes," Eliana acknowledged. "But you're the only one left on the council that I trust about our separate goal."

"Yes, yes, killing Elizabeth," Marcus said. "You know, Drake wants her dead now, too. For humiliating him."

Eliana snorted. " _Please_ , I wouldn't trust Drake as far as I could throw him. The man is an incompetent moron."

"Hm," Marcus said. "Well perhaps if you'd gotten away from Gaius and killed Elizabeth in the Labyrinth, _like we discussed_ , we wouldn't even be in this predicament."

"Don't you start with me on that!" Eliana snapped. "You know that even I can't defy a direct order from Gaius."

Marcus held up his hands. "Fine. Bickering about this does us no good anyway."

"This thing he has with the Seven is personal," Eliana pointed out after a brief pause. "There's hardly any strategic value in capturing them, despite what he might think. This is about Gaius proving something to himself. Just like his obsession with Elizabeth…"

"You know how he is," Marcus said. "He'll never let things go, even if it risks the success of our broader plan." They both fell silent. Marcus's dark eyes sparked suddenly. "As much as I dislike Gaius's newest plan, perhaps there's a way we can make it work to _our_ advantage."

Eliana glanced over at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

* * *

My dream changed, which was annoying because I had been about to discover what Marcus and Eliana had planned. And for what? Getting to see the "miracle of childbirth" for the second time. Gross.

I was in a cave. A bunch of pretty women that I recognized as nymphs were gathering around the pregnant lady. She was screaming in pain. Now, I'd seen a baby being born before, also in a dream. It hadn't been pleasant, not least of which because the baby in question had grown up to be Gaius. But this woman was not Gaius's mother, though they did bear a slight resemblance. This woman had full, dark hair, soft brown eyes, just like Gaius's mom Erin Cross.

"You're almost there, my lady," one of the nymphs said. "Push!"

The woman screamed again. I looked away, really not interested in watching. Finally, after a few more agonizing minutes, a baby's cries filled the cave. The crying was far louder than the woman's screams. I felt like my eardrums were going to burst. The cave reverberated. I looked over at the child, who the nymphs had busily cleaned, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and handed to the new mother.

"Congratulations on your son," the head nymph said.

"Thank you, Neda," the mother panted, looking at her son lovingly, but her eyes were also full of sadness and regret. "But my husband will know what happened. He'll know that I just gave birth. And I must present him with a child but… but how can I let him… let him do that horrible thing again?"

Suddenly the ground nearby split open and a rock the size of the baby appeared. The woman sobbed. "Mother, thank you." She turned to the nymphs. "Wrap this rock in swaddling clothes. With luck, I can use it to fool my husband. But… the baby…"

"We will raise him happily, my lady," Neda the nymph said.

"Thank you so much," the mother said. "I will visit as often as I can. But, wait… how will you care for the baby?"

"We can feed him with honey from the bees that live nearby," Neda said. "And for milk…" Neda motioned to a couple of the other nymphs. They brought in a large goat. "This is Amaltheia," Neda went on. "She is magic. Her pelt is nearly invulnerable. And her milk is nearly as good as Nectar." My spine tingled. I recognized the name Amaltheia.

"But what if the baby cries?" the mother asked worriedly. "My husband has incredible hearing up on Mount Othrys. He will suspect something if he hears the baby crying."

"Fear not," Neda said, taking the mother to the cave entrance. She knelt like she was praying. Suddenly, a group of guys emerged from the ground. They were huge and hairy, wearing fur and feathers and leather holding spears and shields.

"WE ARE THE KOURETES!" one of them shouted loudly. It even managed to drown out the baby's incessant crying. "WE WILL HELP!"

"Thank you," the mother said. I was reeling. I knew who the woman was and I knew who the baby was. I was witnessing something that had happened millennia ago. But... why? "This… eases my fears. But now I must return to Mount Othrys. May I… see my baby one more time before I go?" One of the other Nymphs held her new child up to the mother. She kissed the baby's forehead. "Goodbye my beautiful son. I will return as soon as I can. Goodbye… Zeus."

* * *

 **AN: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND I'll see you with chapter 6 next week.**


	6. Chapter 6: I Get in a Fight with My Ex

**AN: Hey guys! I'm back with chapter 6! I want to thank you all for your support! It's been awesome! I'm blown away by how many reviews this story has already accumulated. Speaking of which, it's time to do review responses.**

 **From Percabeth2001: "** **I really don't like this... oh and you should check out my book it's called "The Lost Twin". It's on wattpad. I think you will like it"  
A: Yeah, Elizabeth is really in a dangerous situation. And I'll try to check it out.**

 **From RockRoy: "Mister D cares for Elizabeth Jackson and now she sees Zeus' birth? Now I really want to know what happens next :D Is it foreshadowing the birth of a new god/king of the gods/queen? Does it tie in with the Veil's destruction? Could it be that the Veil's destruction would unleash a power to create new gods/titans...? Gods, I have so many questions... You be damned for leaving me hanging like this ;)"  
A: Sorry to leave you hanging, haha. Not to worry, all questions will be answered in time.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "*Purses lips* Well, this info will be important...-Victoria"  
A: Yes it will be.**

 **From cghe: "Elizabeth seems a lot more dark in this chapter. (Or in this whole book) Is there a specific reason for that? I suppose that losing her parents is of justifiable cause, but early on in the series it was relatively hard to imagine her this way, even when her arm got chopped off. (Although losing your parents is obviously far worse than getting your arm chopped off)** **Is Elizabeth going to suffer a string of losses? I feel like Elizabeth is really suffering, teetering on edge here."  
A: Elizabeth is in a really dark place, so yeah, she's quite a bit darker. It's not just losing her parents, though. With each passing book, she faces increasingly worse and darker things and they affect her mentally and emotionally in a very profound way. But losing her parents was definitely a huge shock and has pushed her right to the edge. So yeah.**

 **From SilverAngelo: "This makes like, zero sense. Can you fill me in? I think I zoned out and got confused as to why we are reading about Zeus when Elizabeth should be kicking monster ass!"  
A: All will be explained in time!**

 **From the-only-soldier-left: "WHOOP THERE IT IS! Wassup, Rhea? But what has this to do with it?"  
A: Once again, all will be explained in time!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "I think you meant progress not progressive, in the line where Gaius says he has to go check on the twins."  
A: Yes, I did. Good catch!**

 **And lastly, a bit of a change from usual. I will be answering a review left on one of the other books in the series. I don't usually do this, but they asked specifically if I could answer it here, so one last one from EllaAnnieGrace: "Do you watch a show called 'NCIS'? 'Cuz wacking people on the back of the head is REALLY, a character named Gibbs' thing (espeically if they're being thickheaded) And could you PLEASE answer this in the Veils Destruction?-Victoria"  
A: I have seen NCIS, though I don't watch it regularly. I know who Gibbs is, and I guess it is a Gibbs thing to do. But I wasn't thinking of Gibbs specifically when I wrote that.**

 **Alright, that's it from me. I hope you enjoy the chapter! DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 6: I Get in a Fight with My Ex

The next morning when I awoke I was still shocked by my dream. I had just witnessed Zeus's birth. Zeus! King of the gods, ruler of the heavens… It was a lot to take in. I mean, that had happened thousands of years ago. These sorts of dreams usually had a purpose, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why it was important I see Zeus being born. What did that scene have to do with what was going on with me now?

And then there was my other dream. It confirmed some of what I'd already guessed, like the fact that Gaius had kidnapped the Seven to ruin our morale. But I'd also learned some new information. Like the fact that Marcus was a lot more upset about being handed over to us than he'd let on when I was interrogating him. What was more interesting to me, though, was that Marcus and Eliana had embedded a plan of their own within Gaius's plan to take the Seven. Probably their plan had something to do with killing me, because unlike Gaius, they actually wanted me dead.

Gaius claimed that he and I were in a prophecy together, and based on everything I'd seen, heard, and experienced, I was inclined to believe he was right. According to him, the prophecy meant that we would have a huge battle against each other in the future and it had been heavily implied that the battle would be fought over the future of Olympus. I had fought Gaius once before and I'd lost most of my right arm as a result. That did not bode well for our future fight. Not to mention that the event had given me the panic and anxiety problems that had plagued me for almost two years now.

But despite the fact that he'd chopped off my arm and possibly caused irreversible psychological damage, it was clear he wanted to keep me alive. He'd accepted what the prophecy said about our fight. More than that, actually. He'd become obsessed. For some reason, he wanted to make sure that I was prepared for our fight. He wanted us to be equals when we finally had our prophesized battle. I didn't really understand that. By leaving me intact, he risked me screwing up his master plan (which I still barely understood, but I knew he wanted to destroy the gods). If I were him, I'd want me out of the way. Eliana and Marcus certainly felt that way, and they were doing everything possible behind Gaius's back to kill me. They hadn't had any success yet, obviously, but now they had another plan in the works. Quite possibly they were trying to lure me into a trap…

This whole mission of mine could very well lead me to my doom. I mean, everyone kept saying that it would. Why wasn't I listening to all of their warnings? And then the images I'd seen during my last panic attack flashed through my head again. My parents and the rest of them getting tortured… I couldn't give up. I had to track them down. I'd have to be extra careful.

I shook the thought from my head, standing up and stretching as best I could. I was really sore from sleeping on the broken couch.

I looked around the trashed apartment. "Alright," I said quietly to myself. "Time to get started. Now… _where_ do I start?" I looked back towards the door and I noticed the hole in the wall, where Hannah had pulled the knife out the other day. One of my parents must have thrown it, probably right after the demititans burst in. "Right," I said. "That's what I'll do… I'll recreate the fight."

So. The demititans pounded open the front door, catching my folks by surprise. One of them had thrown a knife. But Mom wouldn't have done that. She wouldn't toss a weapon away like that. Which meant that Dad was the one who threw the knife. I could almost see it. Dad had been on the couch watching TV or maybe playing a video game. Dad was caught off guard by the demititans' arrival. He reacted quickly, reaching for the closest weapon at hand. In this case, a knife. He'd tossed it at them, but Dad was never a very good shot. Still, the knife had probably distracted the demititans long enough for Dad to withdraw his sword, Riptide.

Of course, the next question was Mom. Where had she been during all of this?

"The kitchen," I said, remembering that I had found it trashed as well. The kitchen had two doors – one that exited towards the dining room table and one that faced the staircase. In the middle of the wall dividing the kitchen space from everything else, there was a bar window that could be closed with shutters. They were closed, which I hadn't noticed the first time, and there were several arrows sticking out of it.

So Mom must've been in the kitchen when the demititans burst in, probably getting a snack or something. The demititans had burst in. Dad had tossed the knife. Mom had turned at the sound of the ruckus, seen the demititans drawing bows at her, and thrown the kitchen shutters closed. The demititans were already closing in on Dad. Some of them split off from the group and went towards the kitchen to fight mom.

It had taken some time, no doubt, but Mom and Dad both fell back towards the staircase, heading for the safe room. I dashed up the stairs towards the second floor, noticing marks on the walls where the blades had bit into them. I made it to the second floor hallway. My broken bedroom door still lay across the hall. I pictured my parents dashing towards their room at the end of the hall, demititans right behind them. Mom had thrown open my door as they passed in an attempt to slow their attackers down. And then they'd made it into their room.

I went into the master bedroom. Mom and Dad must have succeeded in putting some distance between themselves and the people assaulting the apartment, because they'd had enough time to flip the bed for some cover. Despite that, it hadn't been good enough. I went into the huge closet and back to the secret door of the safe room. Steeling myself, I went inside, which I hadn't done two days ago. The safe room was a drab grey room with several computer monitors and a rack of Celestial bronze weaponry against the back wall. The walls were reinforced with titanium and Celestial bronze. My family had practiced all sorts of drills with Matt and I in case we were ever attacked.

The room was a disaster, just like the rest of the apartment. The computer monitors were on the floor, flickering. The weapon rack on the back wall had been overturned. Most disturbing, the floor was littered with little white fragments of… something. I bent over, picking up one of the pieces carefully with my gloved hand. I squinted, unsure at first what it was. I tapped the piece with my other hand. It was hard and brittle like porcelain, but it wasn't glossy like porcelain. No, it was more like… "Bone?" I said aloud.

Then it struck me. Mom's Drakon bone sword. It must have been broken right at the end of the fight. I couldn't imagine how she'd felt when it happened. Mom had had that sword for a long time. Bob the good giant had given it to her in Tartarus. That sword had been with Mom for a long time. They'd been through a lot. I know that _I_ would've been devastated if my sword got broken.

I closed my eyes, thinking hard and trying my best to stay calm. "Alright," I said aloud. "I've got the contours of the fight down. They must have been subdued in here. So. Clues. Where did the demititans take my parents and the rest of them?

The trouble was, there really weren't any clues to follow. I scoured the apartment for some sort of trail or lead, but there was nothing. I clenched my fists, forcing myself not to panic. "No big deal," I said through gritted teeth. "So there're no clues here? There's always the Graces' place."

* * *

The Graces' apartment was in much the same state as my family's. The furniture was smashed, the kitchen was a mess as was the master bedroom, and even their safe room had been ruined. I looked around for clues there, too, scouring each room and recreating the fight like I'd done in my own apartment. But there was nothing that could lead me back to wherever the demititans had taken them. "AHHH!" I screamed, kicking a broken lamp in frustration. What was left of the lamp shattered against the wall. I had been so sure I could find a lead here, but there really was nothing. I closed my eyes, thinking hard. I had been so sure I could find a lead – either here or at my own apartment. I was so angry and upset that focusing my thoughts was proving nearly impossible. Still, there were two other homes I could search – Uncle Leo and Aunt Calypso's in Texas and Uncle Frank and Aunt Hazel's in California. But was I really going to go all the way to Texas and California in the hopes that there was _maybe_ a clue there?

My eyes snapped open. Yes, I was going to do that. I had to find clues to my family's whereabouts. I wasn't going to give up now. I turned on my heel towards the apartment door. To my surprise, there was someone standing in the doorway. He was my age, with chocolate hair and dark tan skin, his eyes a kaleidoscope of colors. He was tall and handsome and… he was my ex.

"Augustus?" I asked incredulously. "What in Zeus's name are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he said flatly. "I'm taking you back to Camp Half-Blood."

"Oh, you got sent, did you?" I said sarcastically. "Chiron was like, 'hey, Augustus, I know that you're Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend, but you're the perfect one to go retrieve her. Would you go looking for her?'"

Augustus clenched his jaw. "Not exactly, but I was the one who could get here fastest, seeing as I could fly. I may not have been chosen, but I'm still the best person to bring you back to camp."

"Well how about you just go back to camp," I said. "Because I'm not coming back until I find our families."

"And you're just going to do it all by yourself?" Augustus asked. "You'll track down our parents all by yourself?"

"That's the plan."

"That's insane!" he snapped. "You can't do this all on your own! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Well I'm not taking Jocelyn or Theo away from camp," I said. "They're counselors. They have to stay and help the war effort. I'm not a counselor. And even though I've been going to war council meetings, I'm not an official member. I'm not needed for the war effort. I'm not necessary."

"Then take someone else who is 'not necessary,'" Augustus said.

"Oh yeah, who else am I going to bring?" I asked. " _You_?"

"I would do it," Augustus said quietly. "I'd go with you. Help you track down our families. I mean, this affects me, too."

I laughed harshly. "Oh yeah, _that's_ a good idea. I'll just take you, my ex-boyfriend, on a mission to track down our families. That's _bound_ to go smoothly. No, it's better that I go alone."

"Gods, Elizabeth!" Augustus exclaimed. "Why do you always insist on doing everything alone?! You know, there's nothing wrong with accepting help from other people!"

"Oh shut up!" I yelled. "You know damn well that this isn't about taking me back to camp _or_ about whether I do this alone or not. It's been almost a year since we broke up! It's time for you to move on Augustus!"

"That's not what this is about!"

"Like Hades it isn't!" I spat. "You just can't accept the fact that it's over! I _don't need you_. You want to come with me to look for our parents? Well it's not going to happen, and neither is your other goal. Just face the facts, we're never getting back together!"

"I don't _want_ to get back together! I have a mortal girlfriend now! But even if I didn't, why would I want to get back with someone as moody and impulsive and… and _selfish_ as you!"

I laughed again. It was probably cruel, but it was either that or have a complete emotional breakdown. "Well if that's the case, I don't see why we still have a problem," I said. "Why don't you run on back to camp like a good boy and let me do my own _selfish_ thing?"

Augustus clenched his fists. "I'm here to bring you back to camp, Elizabeth."

"Oh really?" I asked. "Because just a second ago you were offering to come with me."

"I will ask you one more time. Will you come back to where you belong – camp – peacefully?"

"My answer hasn't changed," I said grimly.

"Fine," Augustus said shortly. "If you won't come back willingly, I'll have to bring you back by force."

"Wait, wha – "

Augustus yelled and a blast of wind slammed into me. I flew backwards, smashing into the wall. I fell to the floor, dazed. Augustus was running at me, drawing his sword. I scrambled to my feet, ripping my own sword from its sheath. I blocked Augustus's strike – an overhead blow which would have smashed me over the top of the head with the flat of his sword, no doubt rendering me unconscious. I struck out, trying to whap his head with the flat of my own blade, but he blocked the strike. Our swords collided quickly four times. I ducked under his fifth swing, moving around to his side. I went to bash him over the head with my pommel, but he thrust out a hand and I went flying backwards, pushed by the wind.

I smashed through the kitchen door and slammed into his refrigerator. Augustus was already coming towards me again. I lashed out towards the sink with my sword, cutting clean through the faucet. Water spewed out. I clicked the trident button on my sword and just before Augustus reached me, I blasted him with water. He stumbled back a couple of steps, forced by the jet of water. I switched to sword form, but Augustus managed to block my strike. I tried to kick him, but he jumped backwards and used the wind to turn my kick into a flip. I landed hard on my back, letting out a grunt of pain.

Augustus yelled, swinging downwards, the flat of his blade fast approaching my face. I rolled to the side just in time and kicked again. This time it worked. He slammed into the kitchen cabinets. I tried hitting him with my pommel again, but Augustus blasted me with air before I could. I smashed into the top cabinets, then fell to the kitchen counter. I immediately rolled to the floor as Augustus brought his sword down right where I'd been. I rolled between his legs, throwing out my hand as I did so and punching him in a… delicate spot.

He dropped to his knees. I ran out of the kitchen, making for the front door, but once again, Augustus had recovered far more quickly than I'd hoped. He must've been _really_ determined to bring me back to camp. A gust of wind blew past me, slamming the door shut. I whirled around, expecting another sword strike, but I just got blasted by air. I fell over, landing painfully on my tailbone.

"Come back to camp with me," Augustus shouted.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to agree. I was about to say yes, but then… "Son of a bitch!" I yelled. "You tried to charmspeak me!" I pressed the trident button on my sword, absolutely livid. All around me, the walls bulged as the pressure in the pipes built to bursting.

"Elizabeth, wai – "

I unleashed my fury. The pipes exploded, blasting apart the walls. A surge of high pressured water flew out of the kitchen, another joined from the bathroom. I twisted my trident, sending all of it slamming into Augustus. He was thrown backwards forcefully, pinned against the wall. I stepped sideways, redirecting the water to a better angle. I screamed in rage and resentment. Augustus was holding his sword in front of him, trying in vain to deflect the water.

My stomach felt like it was going to explode. My head pounded painfully. Cold sweat was already coating my skin. Besides all that, I could feel the water pressure for the entire building dropping lower and lower. I couldn't maintain this much longer, both because I'd knock myself unconscious and because I'd run out of water before long. But I had to knock Augustus out first. I pushed harder, the force of the water washing over Augustus.

"Enough!" he shouted. Gale force winds blasted away from him. The water sprayed outward in a dome shape, raining down to the floor in droplets. I went flying backwards with more force than Augustus had yet managed to send me.

It's funny the things that come to your mind when you're hurtling through the air at forty miles an hour. Like how I was going to beat Augustus. And how I was going to track down my parents.

I smashed into the already broken TV, shattering the glass even more. I put my plan into action. I went limp, allowing my trident to drop out of my hands. It clattered to the floor, turning back into a sword as it did so. I allowed my eyes to flutter closed. My back was getting wet. No doubt the apartment was becoming a small lake from the water I had just made explode from the pipes. I heard Augustus pant loudly, exhausted from our fight. Then I heard splashing sounds. He was walking towards me.

I waited until his steps stopped, from the sounds of it right in front of me. I opened one of my eyes just a sliver, just barely enough to see Augustus's hazy outline. He was bending over to pick me up. It was time.

I swung my right hand hard. The metal hand slammed into Augustus's temple. He fell over sideways, completely unconscious.

I sighed, grabbing my sword and standing back up. "I'm sorry Augustus," I said sadly. "I'm sorry that it all had to go down like this." I wished that things hadn't become so toxic between us. But it was too late to change that now. Still… "I'll make it up to you," I vowed. "I will bring our families home."

I turned away from my ex-boyfriend, thinking about my plan to find said families. I yanked out my phone. I hesitated for a moment. No doubt my idea would work, but… it would also mean being in contact with one of my friends, and I didn't want anyone else from Camp Half-Blood coming to track me down. Still, I wasn't sure I had much of a choice. If I wanted to find my family, this was my best bet.

I tapped the contact info for Jake.

* * *

 **AN: I'll see you guys next week with chapter 7!**


	7. Chapter 7: I Trash a Tourist Trap

**AN: Hey guys! I'm FINALLY back after taking an unplanned week off (again). I'm really sorry about that, because your support has been so fantastic so far on this book. But there was stuff out of my control going on last week, and I was unable to upload. So I'm sorry about that.**

 **Before we get into it, let's do some review responses. First from RockRoy: "** **Aha, she finally realizes she can't do it on her own, possibly deflecting her fatal flaw :) Can't wait to see what happens next :)"  
A: Well, she sort of realizes it. You'll see what I mean!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Well, The Grace's place is eve more destoyed. And You should should watch the whole series of 'NCIS' The latest episode of is a tearjerker, though, be warned, w/ Tony leaving, and Deaths... ;::::::( [Crying my heart out]-Victoria"  
A: Yeah, the Graces' place is probably gonna need some major repairs, haha. And I'll be sure to put NCIS on my to-watch list.**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "Oh my goodness Elizabeth and Augustus SMACK-DOWN! Jocebeth is adorable yes, but that was so hard to read! Can Elizabeth and Augustus please at least be friends again? Honestly I feel so bad for Gus... I don't know, as I was reading this (not sure if this was your intention) I felt like Gus was just at his absolute worst point. I don't think he came because "he can get there fastest", I think he just wanted to be a friend and keep Elizabeth from dying, and then it was thrown in his face that he was broken up with, and forced to fight the girl that used to be his friend and is now his bitter ex. :( Elizabeth kind of bothered me here because she was so bitter and angry in the way she spoke to Gus, even though she was kinda the one who brought it upon them, when she tried to avoid breaking up with him, and then it all came out at Thalia's funeral. I feel like Elizabeth needs a chill pill. Her rash decisions are going to get her in BIG trouble sometime soon, I can feel it. She needs to realize that she's not the only one grieving here, and like Gus said its ok to ask for help. It's time for her to get out of her own head, I actually agree with Mr. D on this one, she seems to be getting arrogant almost... She has so much weighing on her emotions and mind, she really needs help before she explodes... Aye Aye Aye, such drama, as always you have a gift for making it feel so real!"  
A: Yeah, the Gus v. Elizabeth fight was supposed to be tough to read. Honestly, I feel bad for Gus, too (even though I'm the one who wrote him into the predicament he's currently in!). He really is trying to do his best, and he's hurting pretty seriously from the Seven's disappearance, too. I won't say _exactly_ what ends up happening with his and Elizabeth's rocky relationship, but I will say that it becomes much less toxic eventually. As for your thoughts on Elizabeth - Yeah, she's going off the rails a little right now! You'll have to wait and see where it takes her!**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "these kids are a horrible mess"  
A: That they are!**

 **From J. Cage: "I think you meant Damascus the good giant. Bob is Ipaetus the Titan. JC"  
A: Whoopsy, made a mistake! Good catch, and sorry about that.**

 **From Person: "Alright, I'll bite. Where is Matt? Where is Sierra? They are my favorite characters and they aren't in it! What a world!"  
A: Fear not! Matt and Sierra will have more prominence later in the book. Especially Matt.**

 **From N: "#JOCEBETH2016"  
A: Hahahahahaha, glad you like it!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "UUUUUMMMMM why are you EXTREMELY late? I hope it's 'cuz you're binge watching NCIS.-Victoria"  
A: Sorry to say that it was nothing as fun as binge watching a TV show. Life just got in the way.**

 **Alright, that's it from me. Now let's get on with the chapter. DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 7: I Trash a Tourist Trap

Jake answered on the first ring. "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, his face filling up the screen. I could tell by his surroundings that he was in Bunker Nine, presumably alone. That was good. I didn't want to involve anyone else in this. "Everyone here is worried sick!" he went on. "Theo barely ate at breakfast this morning. And Augustus! He left to track you down before anyone could stop him. Did he find you?"

I glanced over at Augustus, laying on the floor, unconscious. "Yeah, he found me alright," I said. "He's… unavailable right now. Look, Jake, I'm fine. I don't want you or anyone else to worry about me. I just… I need to do this on my own. Hell, I wouldn't be calling at all, but I need help from someone who's good with computers and hacking and all that stuff. And it was either you or Jocelyn, and I have a feeling that Jocelyn is pretty pissed at me right now."

Jake raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't think I would be?"

"Not like Jocelyn," I muttered. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "Uh… how is she, anyway?"

Jake frowned. "Not great. She broke like three plates at breakfast. She said that if you survive to make it back, she'll kill you."

I winced. "Yeah, sounds about right. Jake, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need your help. I don't mean that I want you to come and join me. I just need you to help me with some computer stuff from there. But if you're going to help me, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, not even Theo, where I am and what I'm doing."

"Elizabeth –"

"This isn't a negotiation, Jake," I said, somewhat more harshly than I'd intended I sighed. "Sorry," I muttered. "Look, I'm going to do this whether you help me or not. But if you won't help me, then I'm going to have to figure out a different lead. And it might take me a long time to get back to camp. But if you agree to help me, I should be able to get back a lot sooner."

" _Fine_ ," Jake said wearily. "But I don't approve of what you're doing, Elizabeth. You really shouldn't have just up and left. And you _definitely_ shouldn't be doing this on your own."

"Well I did and I am," I said. "Are you helping me or not?"

Jake sighed, but he nodded. "What do you need?"

"I need to access this building's security camera logs," I said. "Can you walk me through hacking in?"

Jake rubbed his chin. "Maybe," he said. "But you'll need the right equipment. Either that, or you'll need to get into the security office so I can walk you through getting into their computer."

"Let's go with that one," I said. "I'll call you back when I'm in the office."

* * *

I went down to the first floor of the Graces' apartment building and over to the security office. I peeked inside. The door was closed and locked. There was no one inside. I noticed through the window that a red light was flashing on the phone. No doubt a bunch of people were calling in about the sudden lack of water pressure. Whoops. No doubt the security guard was looking into it, which meant I had plenty of time to get in and check the security camera logs.

First, though, I had to get through the door. If Jocelyn were here, she could get open the door with her cool daughter-of-Hermes-lock-picking-skills. But luckily, she'd taught me a couple basic tricks. I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and put it into the lock. After a few minutes, I had managed to twist the bobby pin into the shape of the keyhole and…

 _Click_.

"Gotcha," I muttered, smiling slightly. The door swung open.

I went inside and plopped down in the chair. In front of me there was a bank of television screens that showed images from all the different security cameras throughout the building. They were all connected to an ancient desktop computer. It was locked. I called Jake back. He answered just as quickly as he had before. "I'm at the security computer," I said immediately. "Any tips on breaking the password?"

Jake walked me through the steps to bypass the password screen. Once I was in, I showed Jake. "Alright, nice work. Now are you going to tell me exactly what you're looking for?"

"The vehicles," I said, already going into the files to find the security logs from a couple days ago. "The demititans probably drove here, which means that they probably parked their cars in the underground parking garage before going up to take down Augustus's parents. The Mist probably prevented the guard from noticing anything was off, but I bet the cameras still caught everything."

"And what are you going to do with that information?" Jake asked.

I had clicked on the relevant file and brought up the camera footage from the parking garage from two days ago, scrolling through and looking for the demititans to show up. "If I can get a license plate number, can you search the Internet and law databases for places that car might've shown up?" I asked.

"Unless they got pulled over recently, they won't be in any law databases," Jake said. "But there might be a way to search for a license plate number in any pictures posted online. Like in the background. It'll be tricky, and it probably won't give us any fast results, but I can do it."

I nodded, still scrolling through the footage, looking up every once in a while to see if the security guard was on his way back. "There!" I exclaimed. On the screen in front of me, I saw several black SUVs pull into the parking garage. Several fully armored demititans jumped out of each SUV and went towards the elevators. I scrolled ahead in the footage. According to the on screen clock, the demititans returned to their vehicles fifteen minutes later carrying the unconscious forms of Aunt Piper and Uncle Jason. I squirmed and my heart seemed to drop out of my body. Actually seeing the demititans take them was... surreal. And extremely disturbing. I pushed my emotions back. I had to pay attention. See which vehicle they were thrown in so I could give Jake the right license plate number. After all, there was no guarantee that all the vehicles were going to the same place. "Ah ha!" I exclaimed. The demititans shoved my Aunt and Uncle into an SUV. I gave Jake the number.

"Alright," he said, typing away at his own keyboard back in Bunker Nine. He raised his eyebrows. "Well that was… way too quick."

My heart pounded like a bass drum. "You know where they went?"

"Lake Placid," Jake said. "A black SUV with the license plate number you just gave me was caught in the background of a picture taken there later that day."

I was already clearing out of the security logs and locking the computer back up. I practically dashed out of the office, though I stopped long enough to make sure the door locked behind me. Didn't want to leave any sign that I'd broken in. "Listen, Jake," I said, "thank you so much for this. Sincerely. I know I'm asking a lot –"

"Just be careful Elizabeth," he said. "And make sure you come back in one piece."

"I will," I assured him. "Oh! And one last thing. Augustus. He's out cold in his apartment. Could you send someone to pick him up?"

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. "Yeah, I'll come and get him."

"Thanks," I said. "Gotta go!"

"Be careful!" Jake reiterated as I hung up the phone.

* * *

The long drive to Lake Placid gave me time to think – mostly about how I'd reached a whole new level of hatred for Gaius, which I hadn't even thought was possible. But aside from that, the drive also gave me time for my feelings of guilt to increase. I'd left camp, despite everyone's warnings. I had run away. And now everyone was upset about it. I couldn't imagine how worried Theo was. And Jocelyn… from the sounds of it, she was _really_ pissed. I had expected that, but it still hurt. Any chance I'd had with her was surely gone now. Then there was the fact that I was asking Jake to lie to his boyfriend for me. That wasn't fair. And Augustus! I'd just gotten in a huge fight with him – a fight which had left him unconscious, waterlogged, and probably full of renewed bitterness towards me. And there was Hannah, who'd just arrived at camp and was trying to find her place amidst a crisis that none of us should have to be going through. That wasn't to mention my Roman friends. Sierra and Amy were already at Camp Half-Blood and were no doubt just as upset as everyone else. And when Matt found out…

Yet despite my increasing guilt, my resolve was not wavering. I was going to find my parents. I had to. And I could repair all the damage I'd done with Matt, Sierra, Augustus, Emily, Hannah, and even Riley if I brought all of our parents back safely. That didn't solve my Jocelyn problem, but I couldn't think about that just now. One problem at a time.

After four and a half hours of driving, I arrived at Lake Placid. It was a lovely little town. Lots of cute shops along the main street. The place was also packed with tourists. A popular place to go, it seemed. The lake itself was perfectly reflective. The town shone right off the surface, surrounded by a ring of mountains. The Adirondacks, specifically. I thought back to the last time I was here, when I was a kid.

 _Finally, a few minutes later, we were actually in the town of Lake Placid. Matt leaped out of the car so quickly, I thought I heard a sonic boom. I got out of the car like a normal person. I turned to follow Matt and Mom down the hill towards the lake, but before I could, Dad placed his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you owe me one," he said._

 _I suppressed a smile. "Alright, alright. I owe you one. Thanks for saving me back there, Dad."_

 _"You're welcome," he said. He sighed. "But uh… well, you're not usually so short with Matt. Is something wrong? Did you two get in a fight or something?"_

 _I looked down. I'd been trying hard not to think about it. This was the first family vacation we'd been on in ages. Mom was usually too busy with work to take enough time off for a vacation, much less a full week. I didn't want to ruin it by being upset the whole time. Even so, I couldn't hide anything from Dad. He knew me too well. "It's about when we went to the beach the other day."_

 _"Oh," Dad said with a frown._

 _"I just… I know you took both of us there, but it seemed like it was something you just wanted to do with Matt. I mean, you spent the whole time teaching him tricks with his water powers, but…"_

 _"You don't have any," Dad finished. "And you felt left out."_

 _I nodded, hiding my face and trying really hard not to cry. "I guess I'm just jealous of Matt. Not just because he has powers and I don't, but also because you and him have something to share that you and I don't."_

 _Dad rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I shouldn't have done that. Worst dad ever, huh?"_

 _"No!" I protested. "Dad, I love you. You're the best dad ever."_

 _Dad snorted. "Yeah, right. Listen, I shouldn't have been helping your brother practice when you were there too. That was my bad. Don't take it out on Matt, alright? And that part about you and I not having a thing for just the two of us? Well let's fix that."_

 _"What do you mean?" I asked._

 _"Well, I have a couple of tickets to a concert," Dad said. "An old hardcore band I've liked for a long time. They're doing a reunion tour. I was going to take your mother, but she doesn't really like that sort of music. Do you want to come with me instead?"_

That had been a really long time ago. I had been… what, twelve? So much had happened since then. I'd gotten the powers I'd always wanted, but… well the tradeoff had been this whole awful war. A war in which I'd lost an arm, my friend, Thalia, had died, and now my parents had disappeared. I'd gotten those powers, but I'd lost so much else. I slammed my fist on the steering wheel, accidentally honking at some mortals walking down the sidewalk.

After a couple more minutes of driving around Lake Placid, looking for the demititans' SUV, I finally decided to park and search on foot. That didn't do much good either. I was getting desperate. They had probably already left Lake Placid. And who knew if Jake could locate them again? My lungs tightened. I leaned against the outer wall of a shop, clutching my chest. I needed to calm down. There had to be something I could do.

I glanced up, the lake down the hill, reflecting the town, beautiful as ever. _The lake_. I dashed down the street, startling a mortal couple out of staring lovingly into each other's eyes. After a few short moments, I made it to the beach. It was already cleared out. After all, the sun was setting, and most mortals were heading indoors to get dinner. Perfect. I needed to be alone for this.

"Uh, excuse me," I said into the water. "Is there a naiad here I can talk to?" Silence. I cleared my throat. "Look, I hate to bother you and all, but I could really use your help. I'm the granddaughter of Poseidon, you know."

"And you think that makes you special?" came an annoyed voice right behind me. I turned and was met with a woman who was clearly the naiad of Lake Placid. She had the elfish features and all. But unlike the naiads that lived in the canoe lake at Camp Half-Blood, she looked very serious and not at all like a giggling airhead. She was dressed in a broad brimmed hat and a vest with about a million pockets, each one stuffed with all sorts of things. Like a fisher-woman. "If I had a sand dollar for every demigod coming to my lake thinking they're special just because of who their godly ancestor is, I would be able to purify all the fresh water in the Adirondacks."

"Uh, technically, I'm a legacy, not a demigod," I pointed out.

" _Whatever_ ," the naiad said. "The point is, you lot always want things from me and what do I get in return? Nothing but more pain and suffering and pollution. _No thank you_."

"I'm not asking you to _do_ anything," I snapped back. "I just have a couple questions for you, then I'll leave you alone to do… whatever it is you do."

The naiad sighed. " _Fine_. What do you want?"

"There was at least black SUV here, probably more," I said. "Recently. Within the last couple of days. And I think there were some demigods in them. One of them… One of them may have been a son of Poseidon. Did… did you see or feel anything?"

"A son of Poseidon was here, you say?" the naiad asked. She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "I would've felt it if there were a son of Poseidon in the area. I mean, I felt you and you're Poseidon's _grandkid_. But you're the only descendant of Poseidon to come to this town in more than a year. At least that I've felt. It's possible that I missed something, but it's unlikely."

My spirit plummeted. My chest tightened painfully and my head pounded. "Are you absolutely sure?" I choked out. "What about other demigods? Did you see or sense any other demigods?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything," the naiad said. "Demigods pass through this town all the time. I rarely pay them any attention. Mostly I just hope that they'll leave me alone."

I clenched my fists and bit my tongue, trying my hardest not to have a panic attack. So this was… it? Did the trail just go cold here? I turned to the naiad trying in vain to form words. The harsh look on her face softened, no doubt seeing how distraught I was.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can see that whoever you are looking for is important to you. But I'm afraid I cannot help you."

I nodded stiffly. "It's fine," I croaked. "Thank you anyway."

The naiad frowned, laying a hand on my shoulder. But then she was gone.

I ground my teeth, trying to control my surging emotions. But how could I? My parents were gone and so were the rest of the Seven and Calypso. And now I had no leads. I was going to fail. And my family… they were…

"AHH!" I screamed, throwing a rock angrily into the lake, and dropping to the ground. I panted, trying to get my emotions under control. _It's fine,_ I told myself. _So the naiad doesn't know anything. That doesn't mean they're… gone._

 _That's exactly what it means_ , I responded to myself. Oh great. I was arguing with myself again. I stood up, clenching my fists. So, I was out of leads. What next?

My stomach answered me by growling loudly. I sighed. "Looks like I'm eating," I grumbled. I turned away from the lake and looked up and down the mostly empty street, the sun setting behind the hill. The first restaurant I saw made me choke, my eyes tearing up slightly. The Dancing Bears. The place my family had gone to eat when I was a kid, visiting Lake Placid for the first time. I took a deep breath. For some reason, I knew that that was where I needed to go. I'd eat, I'd make a call, and I'd regroup. But this wasn't over. I was going to find them.

* * *

The inside of the Dancing Bears restaurant was much as I remembered it from when I was a kid. Near the entrance were a couple of mechanical bears that you could make dance by turning a handle. The main dining area was split level, with the bar in the upper part. Several tall tables stood by the window. The place was packed with mortals. The bar was surrounded. People sat at tables with their friends and family, eating and laughing.

The stewardess smiled when she saw me. She seemed friendly enough, with brown hair that had blonde streaks in it. Her eyes were odd – they were such a dark blue, they were almost purple. Despite her apparently friendly nature, I felt uncomfortable. But I pushed the feeling down. My nerves were just frayed, and I really was very hungry. I hadn't eaten all day. "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.

"Uh, hi," I said, my voice still scratchy from screaming and crying. "Um, could I have a table for one?"

"Certainly," the stewardess said. "Would you mind sitting at one of the tall tables by the window?"

"That's fine," I said.

She led the way, taking me up the short couple steps and bringing me over to one of the only unoccupied tables in the place. She set a menu on the table. "Your server will be right with you." After she'd stridden away, I pulled out my phone. I plugged in a pair of earbuds I kept in my jacket pocket and called Jake again. It was a few rings before he answered this time.

"Elizabeth," he said, his voice right in my ears. "Are you in Lake Placid?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding at his image on the screen. He seemed to be walking away from the dining pavilion. No doubt he'd snuck away to answer my call, and that was why it took him a little bit to answer. "Listen," I continued, "I have another favor to ask. Could you please run another search for the same license plate? It doesn't seem to be here anymore."

Jake sighed. "Yeah, sure. I'll get on it. But just so you know, it might take a while. We were incredibly lucky it was so fast last time."

I nodded in understanding. "As long as we can find them. I'm… I'm really worried, Jake."

"I know you are," he said quietly. "Elizabeth… I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't think what you're doing is right. You're putting yourself in danger, you're worrying everyone at camp… can't you just come back? I mean, there's no guarantee that I'll even be able to find the SUV online again."

"I'm sorry," I said. "But I have to do something. If my family… if something happens to them and I could've done something about it but didn't… well I'd never be able to forgive myself. Plus it makes sense, if you think about it. I'm the only one Gaius cares about keeping alive. I'm the only safe one."

"Well correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most of Gaius's subordinates want you dead?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I thought about my dream; Eliana and Marcus had something up their sleeves, some sort of trick to take me out. But I wasn't about to say that. "They can't do anything if Gaius is watching them. And I feel like my family is in the same place Gaius is."

Jake looked like he was going to argue, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something odd. "Uh, Jake, I'm gonna have to call you back." Before he could answer, I'd hung up and stuffed my phone and earbuds back in my pocket.

I looked around the restaurant nervously. Mortals were getting up and moving to the door en masse, shuffling as if in a daze. There was no fire alarm or anything. The customers were just getting up and leaving, as were some of the staff members – though not all of them. I glanced at one mortal's face as she passed my table. Her eyes were glazed over. And then there were the staff members that were staying behind. The bartender stood still, glaring over at me. A couple of waiters stood near him, also looking over at me. Down below, the stewardess was having a hushed conversation with what looked like the chef, both of them glancing over at me. Two more servers stood with them.

After the customers had finished filing out, the two servers standing with the chef and stewardess locked the door. The chef pulled the blinds. The stewardess approached me. I reached for my sword hilt, but only grasped air. I cursed silently at myself. I'd left it in the car. Even with the Mist, I had decided not to risk carrying around my sword in blind daylight. I hadn't wanted to draw unnecessary attention to myself. _Good doing, me_ , I thought bitterly.

The stewardess stopped about five feet away from me. The rest of the staffers that'd stayed behind held their positions. "Hello, Elizabeth Jackson," she said.

"Hi there," I said, my mouth dry. I looked around the room, trying to come up with a plan. I had no weapon. And even though these guys didn't have any weapons readily apparent, they still outnumbered me seven to one. "So, I'm guessing you guys are demititans, yeah?"

The stewardess laughed, all pleasantness gone from her voice. "Oh, excellent observation, Elizabeth. Really, stellar detective work."

I rolled my eyes. "Did Gaius put you here, or is this Eliana's trap?"

That shut the stewardess up. "How – how'd you know about Eliana's trap?"

"So that _is_ what this is," I said. "Frankly, I'm disappointed. I thought for sure she'd want to be here in person to kill me."

The stewardess shook herself. "Stand down, Elizabeth Jackson, and we won't hurt you. Our orders are to bring you before Eliana - alive. That doesn't mean we have to bring you to her in good health."

"Oh, so she _does_ want to kill me in person," I said. "Got it." I looked around, still trying to formulate a plan, but it still escaped me. It didn't look like I would have much choice than to try and fight my way out. With my fists. _Yeah, that'll go well_ , I thought.

"Last warning, Jackson," the stewardess said. "Stand down."

I stood up. "I think I'll pass."

The stewardess shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She yelled and ran at me, ripping a knife out from under her uniform. I ducked around the attack, grabbed the back of her head, and slammed her face first into my tall table. She fell to the ground, dazed. I reached for her knife, but before I could grab it, one of the waiters had tackled me to the ground. I scrambled, trying to free one of my arms. The other demititans were making their way over, and pinned to the ground as I was, I was vulnerable.

Finally, I freed my right arm. I smashed my elbow into the side of the attacker's face. He fell sideways off me, dazed, blood trickling from his temple. I kicked out, my heels smashing into another demititan's stomach. I rolled backwards, leaping to my feet. The guy I'd kicked was doubled over, but he wasn't out of the fight by any means. The chef and the bartender were on me. They each grabbed an arm, holding me in place. I tried to yank free, but all I accomplished was twisting my shoulders painfully. The two uninjured waiters took turns punching me in the gut, and the one I'd kicked in the stomach was just about to join in. I felt the urge to vomit. My midsection burned. _This is it. I can't do this anymore._ Suddenly an idea flared up in my head.

I pushed off the ground with my feet hard and kicked one of the waiters in the face. He toppled over backwards, unconscious. The chef and bartender fell over backwards from my sudden move, their grips on my arms loosening. I used my momentum to yank my arms out of their grip and roll back to my feet. I dodged sideways around one of the remaining waiter's punches and jabbed him hard in the side three times. He screamed and fell over sideways, clutching his ribs.

 _Oh right, metal fist,_ I thought.

The bartender was climbing to his feet. I went to kick him, but he dodged sideways and shouldered me hard. I fell back, slamming into the bar. The bartender ran at me, yelling. I rolled away, along the edge of the bar. He slammed into the wood. I reached out wildly and my hand closed around a bottle. I swung hard, smashing a beer bottle over the bartender's head. He crumpled to the floor, down for the count. Beer had flown ever, soaking my hand and sleeve, but I had more important things to worry about. The chef was still in the fight, as was one of the waiters.

They both ran at me, shoulder first. I leaped over the bar and picked up a bigger bottle labeled _The Knot_ , _Irish whiskey_. I threw the bottle hard. It pegged the waiter in the face, putting him down for the count, but the bottle didn't break. _Thick glass_. The chef was still coming. I dodged sideways as she leaped over the bar, pulling a meat cleaver from under her chef apron. "Oh, come on!" I complained. She swung hard. I dodged backwards, but she was fast. She brought the cleaver around, aimed straight for my face. I raised my right arm in defense. The blade cut hard into my metal arm. I winced, thanks to the pain sensors in my robot arm, but I was fine. The chef, however, was incapable of yanking her meat cleaver free from my arm. I smirked. Perfect.

I punched her in the nose with my left hand. She stumbled backwards, letting go of the meat cleaver stuck in my arm. "Game over!" I snapped, punching her straight in the face with my metal hand. She was down. "Thanks for playing." I said to her unconscious form.

I looked down at my right arm, where the cleaver was still stuck. I grabbed the handle with my left hand and with a great tug pulled it free. I looked at the damage. The cleaver had sliced through the sleeve of my leather jacket and wedged itself between two of the metal plates. Sparks flew out of the newly widened gap. "Well that's not good," I muttered.

I felt a tingling on the back of my neck. I whirled around, raising the cleaver still in my hand. Just in time, too. The stewardess was on her feet, and she'd thrown her knife at me. The blade ricocheted off the cleaver. I leaped over the counter, running at the stewardess. She grabbed a nearby chair and tossed it towards me. I rolled sideways, right into her escape path and tackled her full force. We fell to the floor, a mangle of limbs as we rolled around, hitting and clawing at each other, fighting for dominance. Finally, I ended up on top, pinning her down with my knees, my left arm wedged underneath her chin. The stewardess choked. I panted, tired from the fight and enraged. "Nice try," I growled. "Now, listen here, lady. You are going to answer my questions."

The stewardess choked out a laugh. "And what'll you do if I don't? I already lost."

I raised my right hand to my face and yanked the glove off with my teeth, revealing the metal hand. "You see this?" I asked. "I got this metal hand thanks to your boss, Gaius. It's pretty strong. Want a demonstration?" The stewardess was silent. "I'll take that as a yes, then?" I punched the floor about an inch from her face as hard as I could, cracking the hardwood floor. The woman whimpered, her dark blue eyes widening in fear. "So, how about this? You answer my questions, or…" I grabbed one of her fingers in my metal hand, "I'll squeeze _really_ hard. One finger at a time. And if you _still_ haven't answered my questions by the time I do all your fingers, then I'll have to find another way to motivate you. Understand?"

The stewardess's face was ashen. "Alright," she grunted. "What do you want to know?"

"The black SUV with the Seven in it," I said. "I know it came to this town. Where did it go next?"

"There's a big house near the base of Mount Marcy," the stewardess answered. "They're being held there. I'll give you the exact address, if you like."

I smiled dryly. "I would like that very much." She listed off the address twice, just to make sure I'd gotten it. "Thanks!" I said in a falsely cheery voice, then I lifted my left arm only to punch her in the face. The stewardess fell unconscious.

I sighed, standing up with effort. I was sore all over, I was still hungry, but I was satisfied. Not only had I just beaten seven demititans in a fight without my sword, but I'd also gotten the very thing I needed – my family's location. I sent Jake a text, letting him know that he could stop looking for the SUV. Soon enough, I'd get my family back. And I would make Gaius pay for taking them and for every other awful thing he'd done. I was fired up, and there was no stopping me.

* * *

 **AN: Alright guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! The next chapter *should* be up next week. So I'll see you guys then!**


	8. Long Overdue Author's Note

**Hello everyone. So… I've been gone for a long time. I have seen your reviews and your PMs and I just want to say that I am touched by your concern, and I am sorry that it has been so long since I've updated. On the plus side, I am uploading the next chapter at the same time as this author's note, so if you want to read that first and then come back and read this, by all means, do so. But I want to give you guys an explanation for my long absence and explain how things will be going forward from here – because I am not abandoning this series. So please take some time and give this a read – that is, if you're interested in finding out what's been going on with me.**

 **So those of you who've been reading my stories for a while will know that I don't particularly like sharing details from my personal life. But my unannounced absence has been so long, that I genuinely feel that you deserve an explanation and I cannot do that without sharing at least** _ **some**_ **details of my personal life with you. So here goes.**

 **I am in college, and in fact, I have been since starting this series. For those of you in high school or younger, college is a whole lot harder than grade school. However, my time at college has been, by and large, very enjoyable. And more important for the purposes of this series, I have been able to balance my time effectively. However, a couple of things happened this summer that made that a lot more difficult.**

 **For starters, in previous years I have normally returned to living with my family over the summer. That didn't happen this summer. Instead, I continued to live in the town where I go to college. This didn't have anything to do with my relationship with my family – which is, by and large, quite good. Rather, my normal summer job didn't have any work for me this year, and there were no other jobs in my home town. And I really needed to make some money this summer. So I ended up getting two jobs in the area where I go to college, which, once you deduct what I paid for rent and groceries, actually ended up netting me** _ **less**_ **money than I made at my old** _ **single**_ **summer job. So that ate up a lot of my time over the summer. I still managed to upload somewhat regularly over the summer, but not as frequently or as reliably as I had with the previous three books. Then, the school year started up. Not only am I taking much more difficult classes than I have yet up to this point, but I'm also still working one of my jobs – something that I haven't done in previous years of college. I have simply been under much greater time restraints than I have been in the past, and that is half the reason I haven't uploaded in so long.**

 **However, there's still another half of the reason why I haven't uploaded in a while, though it's not unrelated to the reasons I mentioned above. See, over the summer, I got a resurgence in my depression – which I may or may not have mentioned before. Yes, much like Elizabeth, I suffer from depression (though not because I got my arm chopped off by the son of Kronos). But I've been managing my depression well for about three years now. At least until this summer when I got slammed with it all over again – for reasons I don't entirely understand, nor do I particularly feel like getting into - though money issues were a part of it. The point is, I've been depressed in a way I haven't been in a long time. Now, I can't necessarily speak for everyone with depression, but one of the things that happens to me when I'm depressed is that I become paralyzed. Not physically, necessarily (though, you know, there have been days where I've basically stayed in bed all day because I was so depressed), but rather unable/afraid to do many of the things that I would normally do – such as writing this story or even updating you on what's going on with me.**

 **I'm not telling you all of this to make excuses for my failure to upload, nor am I fishing for pity. Rather, you guys have been such a great, loyal following that I felt you all deserved an explanation for my absence. I understand if you've left the story, and I understand if you don't want to come back after so long. I wouldn't blame you at all. But as I said, I felt that you at least deserved an explanation.**

 **On the plus side, I am finally coming out of the slump I've been in for the last several months, and although my schedule remains crazy busy, half the reason that I haven't been posting chapters is getting better – well, manageable again, at least. As I said right at the top, I am uploading this and the next chapter at the exact same time, so you can go right into reading what happens next with Elizabeth. I wanted to post this author's note separately because I knew it would be a long one - and I owed you guys a nice long explanation.**

 **The last thing I wanted to say is what you can expect going forward. And unfortunately, I can't give you any exact dates for future uploads or a schedule for updates. What I can promise you is that I** _ **will**_ **finish the Elizabeth Jackson series. I am invested in seeing this story through to the end, because I'm really proud of what I've written, and I'm so happy to have so many people who enjoy (or enjoyed, I don't know how many of you are gonna keep reading) my stories. I'm even kicking around some ideas for a sequel series – but I'm not going to make any promises about that particular bit. As I said, though, I promise that I will see** _ **this**_ **series through to the end, even if that takes a bit longer than I had initially hoped. Thank you for reading this long and rambling post, and enjoy the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 8: I Mess Up

**AN: Hello everyone. Long time, no see! Yeeeeeaaaaaah... sorry about that. If you would like to read my explanation/apology for my long absence, I uploaded an author's note at the same time as this chapter. So go check that out, either before or after you read this chapter. As always, I will respond to reviews, so you'll _finally_ be getting that, too. However, I won't be responding to reviews about my absence, since I address those in a broad, general way in my specific author's note. So yeah. Here's some review responses.**

 **First, from UtilitarianShank: "** **Hm, why would the stewardess give correct information? I mean, Elizabeth has no way to verify it."  
A: Exactly.**

 **Next, from ThatSpecialWriter: "Ok, so I understand that the Giaus VS Elizabeth fight will happen in book five and it will end the Titan War and all that stuff, but what about the Amazons and the Hunters? Will they join the fight in the end? Will they be like "Backup Plan A" with the demigods being "Distraction and Diversion"? (I know this is kinda/maybe not gonna happen, I couldn't think of anything else to ask, you already answered all my Questions)"  
A: The Hunters and Amazons will have their part to play, but that's all I'll say on that for now.**

 **Another from ThatSpecialWriter: "As I'm reading this, all I'm thinking about is the wind "The Fighter" by GymClassHeroes. Are there going to be any songs at all in this series?"  
A: I might reference a song at some point, but I won't be putting in full lyrics or anything like that. That's not my style.**

 **A final one from ThatSpecialWriter: "I HAS QUESTION. What happens with this VITAL information that Elizabeth is keeping from the war council? LIKE WTH ELIZABETH!? I know you need to do this on your own and all, but C'MON THIS IS COMMON SENSE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! They could have tracked down the SUV AND gotten a reasonable plan together in the amount of time it took Elizabeth to even GET to the Damcing Bears! They would've had an accumulated strategy laid out and ready, with tons of backup plans, AND (I understand you have to do this own your own, I get that, but you need to ask for help. You can't do everything by yourself and Jake doesn't count as help, you need a camp on your side) COULDVE ATTACKED READILY TO DEFEND AND GOTTEN THE SAME INFORMATION! C'MON ELIZABETH, USE YOUR FREAKING HEAD! YOU HAVE ONE FOR A REASON!"  
A: Yeah, Elizabeth is not being entirely rational right now. It's supposed to be somewhat frustrating. And you can bet that there will be consequences.**

 **From RockRoy: ""Oh right, metal fist." Hahaha. Yeah that's right, Elizabeth, you've got a metal limb. Would've liked to see her do something evil, like squeezing those fingers. She is a bit impulsive, right? I mean a bit of revenge would be normal under those circumstances. Wonder what'll happen next. More buttkicking?"  
A: You're not wrong - doing something like that wouldn't have been entirely out of character for Elizabeth in that circumstance. However, she got the information she wanted without having to do that, and Elizabeth is just cruel for cruelty's sake, so she didn't see the need to go any further once she got information. As for what happens next... well, you'll see.**

 **From cghe: "I feel like you're overplaying this a bit. I mean, 7 v 1? What?"  
A: You're right. There's a reason for it that you'll learn soon enough.**

 **From Person: "I read that one shot you posted on the one year anniversary. There were a lot of snip bits of it and that paragraph at the end of it...we finally got it!"  
A: Yes, you did! I enjoyed writing that one-shot. And I'm glad I got to work in a sneak preview for this book in there.**

 **Another from Person: "I do though have a question. Are you updating every week such as you will update somewhere from Sunday through Saturday and that day will be different each week, or will you be updating every Sunday (that's the day I read this) once a week?** **Great story! I will probably die waiting for the next chapter. Help Me!"  
A: Oh gee. Hope you didn't die waiting for me to upload... sorry about that again. My upload schedule _was_ once a week, but you know. Unplanned hiatus. I will have what you can expect for uploads down at the bottom.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "** **By the gods, Elizabeth. Don't you have a knife? Do you have AT LEAST a little bit of (demi-god/legacy) common sense? YOU SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT YOUR KNIFE (WITCH I'M PRETTY SURE YOU HAVE!)- Victoria"  
** **A: Yeah, once again, she's not thinking super clearly. That will catch up with her.**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "** **Oh my gosh. I just... Oh my gosh. You have a serious gift, I could just imagine myself in Elizabeth's place."  
A: I'm glad you feel that way. My goal was to make Elizabeth's actions, while frustrating, understandable, realistic, and somewhat relatable (you know, assuming something similar happened to you). So I'm glad I succeeded in that.**

 **From TheImpalaLover: "Okay, so is was just waiting in line to go on a roller coaster and it hit me. A veil makes it kinda harder to see when it's on. So it's sort of like the mist. So replace veil with mist. The Mist's destruction. Did I figure it out?"  
A: Interesting theory. And that's all I'll say about that, haha.**

 **From UtilitarianShank: "I have two hypotheses about the "Veil's destruction" thing: (1) it's got something to do with Egyptian mythology, or (2) Gaius is actually a good guy (which is why he's not killing Elizabeth, etc.) and the veil is his pretense"  
A: Two more interesting theories. Not gonna say anything else, though, haha.**

 **Alright, that's finally it from me. Once again, I am so so so so so sorry about the long, unplanned hiatus. At the bottom, I will let you guys know what my plans for continuing uploads will be. Enjoy the chapter. DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 8: I Mess Up in the Most Colossal Way

Even though I was in a hurry to get to the demititan base the stewardess told me about, I knew well enough to take stock of myself and everything that was going on before I left. I was bruised and battered, not to mention the fact that there was a gash in my metal arm spewing sparks all over the place. Plus, I still hadn't eaten. If I was going to save my family, I needed my energy, which meant I had to eat. This wasn't going to be easy.

I searched the restaurant for the demititans' gear, all the while thinking over what I'd just learned. Mount Marcy wasn't far, though getting there wouldn't be easy. Surely this place was at least as well defended as Marina's base up in Canada had been. And just rushing in wouldn't do my family any good. I'd have to find a way to sneak in, get to my family, then sneak out. Hopefully I'd have a chance to sneak into Gaius's quarters and slit his throat while I was at it, but my family's safety came first.

Finally, I found the demititans' supplies. They were in a little storage cupboard in the back of the kitchen. I searched through them and found Ambrosia and Nectar. _Perfect_. After some more searching, I found a tool box with the other main supply I needed: electrical tape. New supplies in hand, I went into the bathroom to clean myself up.

I winced when I saw myself in the mirror. The girl looking back at me looked wild. Her black hair was loose and frizzy. Her grey eyes burned with a scary amount of intensity. There were deep purple bags under those eyes – evidence of how poorly I'd been sleeping the last couple of days. The crooked nose added to the image of a girl that had gotten in a few too many fights, which, I supposed, wasn't wrong. "Jeez," I muttered to myself. "I look like a freaking psycho."

I shook myself and got to business. I was wasting time. I pulled off my leather jacket and lifted my shirt to check the bruising on my abdomen. I flinched slightly when I saw the damage. My entire lower torso was already a deep purple. There was probably some serious internal damage there. Frankly, I was surprised I hadn't passed out. But surprisingly I didn't feel a whole lot of pain just yet. Probably because every vein and artery in my body was still coursing with adrenaline. Even so, once that adrenaline wore out I'd be toast.

I ate some of the demititans' Ambrosia and took a swig of Nectar – a dangerous thing to do. Too much godly food could kill a full demigod. As a legacy, I was even more likely to get burned up by the stuff. I staggered slightly, feeling light-headed, and my whole body heated up like the surface of the sun. The moment passed though. I glanced back at my abs. The bruises were already starting to fade. _Good_.

Next, there was the gash in my metal arm. There wasn't a whole lot I could do to actually fix the problem, but I at least needed to stop the sparking. Aside from being annoying, I was now also liable to start a fire. That's where the electrical tape came in. I wound the black tape around my arm several times, making sure the gash was completely covered and that sparks weren't flying freely. I looked at my handiwork. "Not perfect, but it'll do," I muttered.

I did one last check of the restaurant. The demititans were still out cold. I decided to bind them up with some duct tape I found in the tool box. Lastly, I grabbed a full loaf of bread from the kitchen and headed out. It was time.

* * *

Okay, maybe it wasn't quite time yet. When I made it to my car, there was a woman standing over my car, wearing a police uniform. "Uh oh," I muttered. I approached slowly. "Um, hello? Can I help you?" The police officer turned. She had dark hair tucked into her police cap. Her face was regal. I hadn't seen this particular face before, but I had seen her intense grey eyes. I knew who it was, even though she'd disguised herself. "Grandmother?" I said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Elizabeth," Athena said. "You're a long way from Camp Half-Blood."

"Not _that_ far," I said. "I've been a lot farther from camp before."

Athena's eyes seemed to bore into my very soul. "Perhaps not far if you'd left with _permission_ , but as it stands…"

I raised my hands. "Grandmother, please stop. I appreciate what you're trying to do. I really do. But it's too late for me to turn back now. I have to keep pushing forward. Besides, don't you want me to save my mom? Your daughter?"

"Nothing would please me more than Annabeth's safety," Athena conceded. "But acting alone is not the solution, Elizabeth. I think you know that."

I sighed. "Maybe I do know that. But I'm not turning back now. Every moment I wait is another moment that Gaius has to torture my family. And it's another moment closer to when he decides he has no more use for them and… disposes of them. If I had the time to go back to camp and put together a massive rescue mission, I would. But every decision at camp involves a huge debate. And that's not to mention planning time. I don't have time for that. _The Seven_ don't have time for that."

"And have you considered that this is a trap?" Athena asked. "The son of Kronos knows you, Elizabeth. Do not think he is unaware of your fatal flaw."

"But he doesn't want me dead," I pointed out.

"No, but his subordinates do," Athena said.

I shifted uncomfortably. She was right, of course. But I'd just escaped Eliana's trap. And it wasn't like she could kill me right in front of Gaius. "Look, I'll be in and out of that base," I said. "Once I free my family, I'm not going to hang around."

"You'll be satisfied with that?" Athena said. "Just freeing the Seven and leaving? You don't want vengeance?"

I frowned. She knew me pretty well. "Okay, so maybe I want to sneak into Gaius's quarters and take him out while he's sleeping."

"And if neither the son of Kronos or your parents are in this base?"

"Then I'll find more clues and move onto the next place," I said. "I'm not going to stop until I've freed them."

Athena's eyebrows knit together. "Elizabeth, be careful. These are rash, impulsive actions from a girl whose fatal flaw is being rash and impulsive. You are my granddaughter. You have a powerful mind. Use it. Think this through."

"I think everything through," I protested.

"No you don't," Athena countered. "You are too much like your father, Elizabeth."

My face burned. "You say that like it's a bad thing. My dad is one of the best people I know."

"Your father is reckless," Athena said. "I thought that by warning you of your fatal flaw, I could steer you away from behaving like your foolish father. It seems I was mistaken."

My jaw tightened. I'd always heard that Athena and Dad never got along. And now it seemed like the same rift was about to form between me and Athena. "I guess you were, grandmother. Now, if there's nothing else –"

"Elizabeth, I came to warn you," Athena said. "You are heading down a dangerous path. One you may not survive."

"All I care about right now is saving my family," I snapped. "If I have to die to do it, I will."

Athena looked me over pensively. I thought I noticed a look of sadness on her face. But then the moment was gone. "Very well," she said. "I gave you my warnings and you have chosen not to heed them. Goodbye, Elizabeth."

She started glowing. I looked away as she revealed her true godly form and teleported away. "That went well," I grumbled. I shook myself. So Athena was pissed at me. Just another god to add to the list. That wasn't important – as much as it hurt. What _was_ important was saving my family. I got in my car and started driving.

* * *

I stopped about a mile out from the address the stewardess gave me. It was only about nine at night. I wanted to make sure that as many of the demititans were asleep as possible. The fewer of them ready for action the better. Plus I was getting pretty tired – it had been a long day. I needed rest if I was going to survive breaking in, getting my parents, and getting back out. I set my phone alarm for three A.M., then put my chair back and closed my eyes. Of course, as luck would have it, I dreamt.

I found myself outside. There was a cave nearby. Trees were all over the place. The grass was almost golden. The sun glowed bright overhead. Suddenly a chariot dropped out of the sky, pulled by lions. The person at the reins was Rhea. She looked just like she did last time, except, you know, not giving birth. A young man dashed out of the nearby cave. He had short black hair, and a trimmed, matching beard. His sky blue eyes sparkled. He was also incredibly muscular and tanned, obviously from spending lots of time outside. "Mother," the young man said, his voice deep. And familiar. Of course, I knew it was Zeus. I had met the king of the gods once before, after all. It was weird seeing him young, though. "I was not expecting you today."

"Well, my son, I am here," Rhea said. "And I have news. The time to save your siblings and get revenge on your father is fast approaching. Your father seeks to hire a new cup-bearer."

"A cup-bearer, mother?" Zeus asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"Yes, my son," Rhea said. "This is the perfect opportunity. You can come into the palace in disguise and earn your father's trust. It will put you in the perfect position to trick him into disgorging your siblings."

Zeus nodded. "Very well then. When do we leave?"

"One week, my precious son," Rhea told him. "Spend your last week training well. You must be prepared when I return, for things shall move quickly after that."

* * *

I started awake to the sound of my alarm going off. Three A.M. I rubbed my eyes, yawning and silencing the alarm. I thought about my latest dream. "Why do I keep dreaming about Rhea and Zeus?" I wondered aloud. "What does it have to do with what I'm doing right now?" I racked my brains, but couldn't come up with any solid ideas. I sighed. I wished I had my friends with me. Especially Jocelyn. She was always the perfect person to bounce ideas off of. I shook my head. I needed to focus. It was time to break into a demititan base and save my family. I needed to have my wits about me.

I started my car back up and began to drive slowly down the road, my lights off so as not to attract attention. The trees overhead blocked out almost all of the moon- and starlight, but that was okay. The darker it was, the closer I could get to the base with my car.

Of course, I expected that I would come across a security gate or something, like Marina's place in Canada had had, so I was surprised when I suddenly found myself driving right up to the house. I stomped on the brake out of instinct and shut off the engine, sure that I'd alerted someone within to my presence. But there was nothing. I looked out through the windshield at the structure. The building was a large log cabin. Three stories, but nothing too fancy. I frowned. This definitely didn't seem right. Marina's headquarters hadn't been the main demititan HQ, but that place had been way larger than this and well defended. This building was dark, with no wall or security gate or anything.

I cursed under my breath. The demititan back at the restaurant had obviously lied to me. My parents weren't here. There was no way they'd be in such an unfortified location. I closed my eyes, thinking hard. "I could go back to the Dancing Bears," I muttered. "But… the demititans are probably gone now…" I contemplated my next move for a second before deciding that I should at least investigate the log cabin and see if there were any leads at all.

I got out of my car, flustered and frustrated. I couldn't believe that I'd come up on what was probably another dead end. Even so, I made sure that my sword and knife were both strapped to my waist. There was the possibility that this wasn't as abandoned as it looked, and if that was the case, I would have to be ready to fight.

I moved toward the front door quietly. I tested the knob. Open. I frowned. That… probably wasn't a good sign. Still, I pressed on. I opened the door and crept inside. I pulled out my Celestial bronze knife to use as a light. The soft bronze glow didn't illuminate too far, but that was perfect. If there was anyone here, I didn't want to alert them. I looked around the entry room. The door had led straight into the living room. There were a couple couches arranged around a coffee table. There were bookcases against the back wall. There wasn't anything important in this entry room, so I moved on.

I sneaked through the log cabin, checking everything, leaving no stone unturned. But it was as I feared when I first pulled up. The woman in the Dancing Bears had definitely lied to me. I ground my teeth, trying to keep myself from screaming. Then I remembered that I was alone.

I screamed angrily. I grabbed a nearby lamp and tossed it against the wall. I grabbed one of the nearby bookcases and threw it hard towards the floor. There was a huge clatter and slam. And then I froze. Behind where the bookshelf had been, where there should have been nothing but wall, there was a doorway leading to a flight of stairs. A secret basement. I winced. There probably _were_ people here. And if they didn't know about my presence before, they certainly knew now. Leaving was the best, logical option.

So of course, I instead decided to go downstairs and investigate the secret basement. I moved slowly down the stairs, my knife still held in front of me as a light – the staircase had no overhead lights, which I thought was dangerous, but whatever. At the bottom of the staircase I found myself in a sparse room, the floor and walls made of metal. Suddenly a sliding metal door slammed shut behind me. Fluorescent lights flickered on above me, blinding me temporarily.

"Hello, Elizabeth," a familiar voice said. I spun towards the voice, still somewhat blinded, but nonetheless able to tell that one of the walls of the room I found myself in was a giant screen and had lit up with someone's face. As my vision cleared, I made out her features. Auburn hair, tan skin, a spray of freckles across her nose, and eyes like miniature suns. "I was wondering when you'd finally make it here."

"Eliana," I growled. "Where are my parents?"

Eliana laughed harshly. "Far away, Elizabeth. You realize by now, I hope, that you've been on a wild goose chase, yes? When I kidnapped the Graces, I purposefully left behind just enough evidence that you'd be able to 'follow' them. Then I told my troops at the Dancing Bears to wait for you, let you 'beat' them, and give away this location. But of course, the Graces are not here. Nor were they or your parents ever in Lake Placid. You know, I don't give Marcus credit for much, but he was right about you. You really are predictable. Did you hesitate at all to chase after your family when you found out they were kidnapped? Did you even question what my agents at the Dancing Bears told you?"

I looked around the room while she talked, seeing if there was a way in or out. The only door in the room was the one I'd entered through, which had slammed shut behind me and probably wouldn't open easily. The walls of the room were stainless steel and, strangely, I noticed a line going down the center of them. _What's that about?_

I decided that my best bet was to keep Eliana talking while I figured out a way out. Maybe I could trick her into revealing important information while I was at it. "So what? You're just gonna lock me up in this room? Real good trap you put together here. Hoping I'll die of dehydration?"

"Actually, I'm glad you asked about that," Eliana said, grinning evilly. She raised up a remote so that it appeared on screen and pressed a button. Around the room, the walls split apart along the lines, revealing cubbies. In each one there were metal barrels, wired together.

I gulped. "Uh, are those…?"

"Explosives?" Eliana supplied. "Why yes, they are. I got the idea from when Marina tried to blow you up in that radio tower two years ago. Of course, I made some improvements. For instance, this inescapable room. Also, I'm not going to give you time to get away." She held up a remote. "As soon as I press this button, you'll have ten seconds to pray to your stupid gods before you're blown into a million pieces."

"Gaius won't be happy if you kill me," I pointed out in vain. Eliana clearly knew that already. But I had to stall for time, figure a way out of here. I was no help to my family if I died here.

Eliana rolled her eyes, but I thought I noticed something else in them. "Yes, well his obsession with your shared fate has blinded him to the danger you pose to our plans. And it's blinded him to… other things, as well. No, better to do away with you to guarantee our success. He'll be angry, but that will pass with time. Soon he'll accept that my actions were for the best for us… for our plans, I mean."

That was it! Eliana's love of Gaius… if I could manipulate her emotions, maybe I could get her to let me out. "You know, Gaius will never love you back if you kill me. You realize that, right? He'd never forgive you for it. And then any hope you had of ending up 'happily ever after' with that psychopath would go down the drain. Permanently."

Eliana's face flushed, clashing magnificently with her auburn hair. "You don't understand _anything_."

"Not true," I said boldly. "Frankly, I probably know more about your 'true love' than you do. And don't try to deny that you love him. I've seen it in your eyes. You will _never_ be with Gaius if you kill me now."

"Shut up!" Eliana spat. "You're wrong. I – I – when Gaius sees the benefits of your death he'll _thank_ me."

"He won't," I said. "He's not going to let it go if you kill me."

Eliana opened her mouth to spit back another response, but suddenly she closed it. A look of calm came over her face. _Oh shit_. "Then I'll just have to make sure that Gaius never finds out it was _me_ that killed you. Goodbye, Elizabeth Jackson." She pressed a button on her remote and the screen went dark, replaced by a ten second countdown.

I screamed in rage and fear. I threw my knife hard at the screen. The blade embedded itself in the glass up to the hilt, sending a cobweb of cracks across it. I whirled around, ripping my sword from its sheath. I wedged the tip into the door that'd slid shut behind me, trying to force it open. "COME ON!" I screamed, pulling hard on my sword. No luck.

And then the barrels exploded.

* * *

 **AN: So you know. With a cliffhanger like that, I'm sure you want to know when the next chapter will be. Now, I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. So I'm not going to make a promise as to when you can expect chapter 9. But I will say that it'll be relatively soon. Hopefully within the next week - but that's not a promise. What I will promise is that I will see this series through to the end. You don't have to worry about me giving up on it.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the return - finally - of Elizabeth Jackson and the Veil's Destruction.**


	10. Chapter 9: A Long Lost Relative

**AN: Hello all! I'm back with the next chapter. I want to thank everyone who's still bearing with me and reading this story, despite my previous long hiatus. It really means a lot to me. Anyway, let's do review responses.**

 **First, from RunawayFromHome: "** ***is too lazy to log it to use name* Love it. Eliana having a crush on Gaius was an awesome idea! *two thumbs up* You're an awesome writer and I hope that Elizabeth gets more cliffhangers! *waves bye*"  
A: Thanks! I've been working in little hints here and there throughout the series for how Eliana feels about Gaius, but this is certainly the first time it's been addressed so openly - by Elizabeth to use as leverage, no less. I'm glad it went over well! And don't worry, Elizabeth will get plenty more cliffhangers before all is said and done.**

 **From cghe: "** **I personally don't suffer from depression so I don't know if I have the right to say this, but anyone that is sane will continue to push on with their life. Not sure if those are words of inspiration, but anyway keep going!"  
A: Well, in my experience it isn't always as simple as that, but I appreciate your support! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

 **From ThatSpecialWriter: "I love it! Cliffhangers and all! So glad you're back bfalt1!"  
A: I'm truly glad to be back. I love writing this story for you guys!**

 **From RockRoy: "A cliffhanger like to that is what you do? Not cool :( Happy to see you and the novel returning :)"  
A: You know me; I can't resist a good cliffhanger, hahaha.**

 **From Constipatedkid: "** **Um, no offense, but Elizabeth sounds kinda stupid - I'm not talking about her decision to free her parents, but she seems to be missing some obvious give-aways, like the stewardess being a trap. And the point of the Zeus/Rhea dreams is pretty obvious too.** **TBH, I felt the same about Annabeth - good at memorising facts and stuff, and smart in the sense of quick-witted, but sucky when it comes to actual cognitive ability. The only good representation of intelligence I've seen is in James Dashner's Mortality Doctrine - Michael and Sarah."  
A: I'm sorry you feel that way, but try and keep in mind that Elizabeth isn't thinking entirely clearly right now. She's been acting off of her emotions ever since her parents' disappearance, so she's not acting completely rationally or intelligently. It's easy to see what the right thing to do is from the outside of a situation, but it isn't really so easy to tell from the inside - I know that one from experience. Another piece, though, is a plot device. If a character has all the answers and can figure out all the answers easily, then they don't make dumb mistakes and end up in the dangerous situations that drive the story. So yeah. Those are the reasons I've written Elizabeth the way that I have, and I *think* that's why Rick Riordan writes Annabeth the way he does (obviously, I don't know for sure). At any rate, I hope you will enjoy this story going forward anyway. And I'll have to check out the book you mentioned.**

 **From Person: "This made my day, and possibly my week. Thank you for uploading, and yes. I didn't die, but it felt like I was."  
A: I'm glad I could cheer you up so much! And I'm glad you didn't die!**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "** **When will Elizabeth catch a break"  
A: Good question. You'll have to read to find out.**

 **And finally, from J. Cage: "daaaammmmnn it has been long since I read a quality fic."  
A: Well I hope this story counts, haha.**

 **Alright that's it for review responses. On with the story! DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 9: A Long Lost Relative Saves My Skin

My eyes snapped open. I gasped in air. "Wha – where in Hades am I?" My brain had finally registered my surroundings. I was in a drab lobby. Dozens of people were crammed into benches and chairs jittering nervously. Really obnoxious music was playing over the speakers. Up at the reception desk a ragged-looking teen, probably about my age, was arguing with the hulking receptionist. "Come on, I've been here for _ages_!" He was lanky, with shoulder length brown hair. His clothes were dirty and torn.

"No money, no passage," the receptionist said. He was a huge man with dark skin. He wore a white Italian suit, which matched his military cut bleach blond hair. Despite the fact that we were inside, he wore tortoise shell sunglasses. His voice was tinged with an accent close to a British one, but not quite, because it almost sounded like English was his second language. "At least, not until I'm feeling generous. And that doesn't happen very often, kid."

"But I was homeless," the kid protested. "I don't _have_ any money."

"I have some money," I offered, stepping up to the receptionist. "I can pay for… whatever this kid wants to do."

The receptionist raised his eyebrows. "Fine. What sort of money do you have?"

I yanked my wallet out of my jacket pocket and leafed through the contents. Evidently, something caught the receptionist's eye, because he leaned forward and asked, "Was that a golden drachma?"

My internal alarm suddenly started blaring. It was strange that it hadn't already been going off, but for some reason nothing about this place had really bothered me up to this point. I mean, aside from the fact that I had no clue how I got here. But suddenly I was aware of how strange it was that I was in this place, and how strange it was that this receptionist knew what golden drachmas were. "Uh, yeah," I said, pulling one of the golden coins out of my wallet and placing it on the reception counter. "There you go."

The receptionist picked up the coin, holding it up and checking it in the light, no doubt making sure it was real. He seemed satisfied, so he pocketed the coin, then motioned the boy to the hallway behind him. The boy turned to me first. His eyes were a dull grey, though they had flecks of blue in them, almost like his eyes had changed color. I hadn't realized until I saw how hollow his face was, but the boy also looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in years. "Thanks," he said. "The name's Graham Andrews. Maybe we'll see each other down there."

He proceeded down the hallway to the receptionist's right and joined a line of people waiting in front of an elevator. _Down there?_ I wondered. I turned back to the receptionist, wary. "Look, I'm confused. Uh, where exactly am I?"

The receptionist chuckled. "Haven't figured it out yet, demigod?" he asked.

"Legacy," I corrected from force of habit. "And no, I have absolutely no clue where I am, or how I got here."

"Have you checked my nametag?" he asked. "Might give you a hint."

I glanced at the man's nametag. "Charon?" I said. "So you've got an unusual name, I don't see… Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no."

"Yes," Charon said. "Welcome to DOA Recording Studios, entrance to the Underworld. And you, young lady, are dead."

"But I can't be dead," I reasoned. "I feel like I'd remember dying."

Charon chuckled. "I hear that one a lot. So tell me, what _is_ the last thing you remember?"

I struggled, trying to think. It was a lot harder than I'd expected. My memory didn't seem to want to cooperate. "I was… searching for my family," I said, struggling to piece it all together. "They were kidnapped. And then…" Finally my memories snapped into place. A cold feeling filled my whole body. "Then I walked into a trap," I said numbly. "And I got blown up."

Charon smiled. "Well there you are, then. Getting yourself blown up is liable to kill you. Now, there's still room on this trip into the Underworld if you've still got enough money to pay."

Despite the fact that I was apparently, you know, dead, I felt my heart thunder in my chest (not sure how that was supposed to work). I couldn't believe it. I was actually… dead? But my family… And my friends… I'd never see them again. I'd never know if my family was safe – well I guess unless I ran into them in the Underworld. I'd never have a chance to tell Jocelyn what I thought about her. Still, this was my own damn fault. I had acted without thinking things through. I'd acted against everyone's advice – my friends, Chiron, Mr. D, my own grandmother. And I had paid the price.

Almost without meaning to, I reached into my wallet for another drachma. This was just the way the world worked. There was no point trying to fight it. Besides, at least I wouldn't have to worry about that final showdown with Gaius or our prophecy or any of that.

Suddenly there was a ding as the front door of the place opened. "Hold on," said a vaguely familiar voice. "Do not pay that man."

I turned. A woman was walking towards the reception desk urgently, wearing a simple white dress that understated her elegance and clearly apparent status. She had full dark hair and brown eyes. Her face was regal. "She will not be entering the Underworld."

"I'm sorry to disagree with you, my lady," Charon said. "But she is dead, and that's the rule. So… yeah, she will be going to the Underworld."

"I have already spoken to my son, _your boss_ ," the woman said. "She still has a role to play in the world of the living."

"Uh, hang on a second," I said, my heart halfway up my throat, "are you talking about bringing me back to life? Like a freak… a zombie?"

"Yes, I am talking about bringing you back to life," the woman said. "But you won't be a freak. Or a zombie. You will not be the first person ever to return from the grave, after all."

"Now hang on one second," Charon said. "I'm going to need some kind of proof that Lord Hades is okay with this."

The woman sighed, but she produced a scroll of paper and passed it to Charon. My head was spinning. "I'm sorry," I said, my voice getting higher, "but what the Hades is going on?! I – I – I don't know if I –" I couldn't finished the sentence. I could barely wrap my mind around the idea that I was dead – but now I had to contend with the fact that it looked like I was being brought back to life. I actually felt tears well up in my eyes.

The woman looked at me, her face full of sympathy. "I know that this must be traumatic for you, Elizabeth. And I know that you must have dozens of questions. But we don't have much time. The window of opportunity to bring you back is closing rapidly. As we speak, your mortal body's systems are completely shutting down. If we don't bring you back soon, return your soul to your body and get your heart beating again, you won't have a body to return to. You'll be stuck in the Underworld, and the war against the demititans will go sideways."

She looked me in the eyes and a series of rapid images flashed through my mind. I didn't catch all of them, but they weren't great – Camp Half-Blood in flames, riots on the streets of New York City, Gaius holding aloft Zeus's severed head, but most importantly for me, all my family and friends, lying in a mass grave. I staggered slightly as the stream cut off, gasping. "A vision of the future," the woman said, "if you fail to return to the surface world."

Charon looked up from the paperwork the woman had handed him. "It all seems to be in order. One 'Elizabeth Jackson' is granted a temporary pass on this particular death, pending the completion of her prophecy."

My head was still reeling from the images that I'd just seen. But one word in that caught my attention. " _Temporary_?" I asked.

The woman frowned. "Something we'll discuss when we return you to life. But we really must be going."

One of the images she'd shown me stuck in my head – my family dead. I was filled with determination. I nodded resolutely. "Alright. Let's do it."

The woman smiled. "This way then." She reached out her hand. I grabbed hold and together we walked out the front doors of DOA Recording Studios.

* * *

Coming back to life isn't a fun experience. I was instantly overwhelmed with sensory input as all my senses rushed back at once. My heart started beating again, pounding faster than I think it ever had, no doubt reveling in the fact that it _was_ beating again. My lungs expanded rapidly, bringing in the air for the first time in… however long I'd been dead for. The air tasted sour to me, with a hint of iron. Of course, the iron was probably from my own blood, which I felt pooled up in my mouth. My nose filled up with the smells of burning.

And then there were the sights. They were pretty limited, but what I did see was grim. I was lying on my back, that much was clear. The sky above me was black with smoke. And based on the billowing, it definitely was the sky. The explosion had been so large it had completely obliterated the whole house. At the edges of my vision I could see flickering orange light – fires still raging from the explosion. My sense of hearing confirmed that, since I could hear the crackling of fire. But I could also hear a strange, high pitched tone rising and falling from somewhere nearby.

All of this happened in my first split second back alive. The next split second was spent screaming. I was in unbearable pain. I couldn't move for the pain. I had no sense of touch – only pain. I screamed until my throat was raw, pausing only to cough up blood every once in a while.

After my screaming had calmed slightly, the voice of the woman from the Underworld spoke up. "You should probably get that," she said. Suddenly her face appeared above me. I honestly had no clue what she was talking about. And the weird high pitched tone was not helping my concentration. "The sound," she said. "It is your… what do you call it? Cell phone. You should answer it. But don't say anything about what has happened."

The words made the sound suddenly familiar. My ringtone. I swallowed back another scream of pain as I tried, blindly, to reach for the phone. I couldn't lift my left arm at all. My right arm, though… maybe that would work. My robot arm was also in unbearable pain, but unlike the rest of my body, the robotic servos worked regardless of pain. I reached around with my right arm, very careful to only bend it at the elbow, since my shoulder was still human. As I moved it around, I could hear the robot arm groaning, the servos whirring much louder than they should have. That wasn't good.

After a few seconds of trying, I finally managed to grab my phone. With some effort, I raised it over my face. Frankly, I was amazed that it was still working at all. The screen was a cobweb of cracks. The rest of the phone was chipped and dented. But it was still working. I had to hand it to Uncle Leo – he made a damn good phone. Through the shattered screen, I could just make out the name "Nico di Angelo." With a jolt, I remembered that he could sense it when people died. He'd probably felt it when I did. But then I'd come back. No doubt he was all kinds of confused and worried.

Now, I couldn't see my face, but it was probably pretty messed up from the explosion. Besides, I didn't even know if the camera would work anymore. I tapped the "voice only" option.

"Elizabeth?!" Nico asked loudly. "I can't see you, are you okay?!"

"Uh, yeah," I lied, my voice coming out in a weak croak. Probably not very convincing. Still, might as well double down on the lie. "I'm fine," I added, my voice slightly stronger, but only a little.

"You don't sound fine," Nico said, still alarmed. "And more importantly, I felt you die for a second there!"

I coughed again, flecks of blood splattering the screen. I wasn't sure that I could fool him… but my savior was still right there, in my range of vision, and she was shaking her head fervently. The message was clear. I was supposed to convince Nico I was fine so that he'd drop it and not look into it. That was no doubt why she wanted me to answer my phone in the first place. "Well, I did just take a pretty bad hit in capture the flag," I said. "Theo was just telling me that my heart actually stopped for a moment. Maybe that's what you felt? You know how these things are. These games can get out of hand sometimes." Based on the silence on the other end of the line, Nico wasn't convinced. "Honest, I'm fine," I said. "Theo says a couple days of bed rest and I'll be all better." I _really_ hoped that Nico wasn't already aware that I'd run away.

Finally, I heard Nico sigh. "Alright, fine. Just be more careful, yeah? You had me really scared there."

"I'll do my best," I said. Then, to make things seem less suspicious – and because I was curious – I asked, "Hey, how's the search for my family going?"

"I'm following up on several leads right now," Nico said. "Hopefully I'll have something substantial soon. I'll let you know when I do."

"Thank you," I said. "Anyway, Theo is telling me I need to get off the phone and get some rest. I'll talk to you later, Nico."

"Alright," Nico said. I could sense that he still didn't buy my lie, but he also seemed to have figured out it was better not to push it. "Take care, Elizabeth."

After I'd hung up, the woman spoke again. "Thank you, Elizabeth. It is best to make sure no one knows about your death and rebirth. My son made it very clear that if anyone found out about this, especially his youngest brother, there would be serious repercussions. Oh, forgive me. I shouldn't be referring to them like that. After all, I haven't introduced myself."

"No need," I said. "You're Rhea, it was… it was pretty uh… obvious." My head was swimming. These brief few minutes of being alive again had been draining. I felt my consciousness slipping away rapidly, which was annoying, because I had so many questions.

Again, Rhea seemed to read my thoughts. "Don't worry Elizabeth. There will be plenty of time for questions later, once we have taken you to safety."

"We?" I wondered. But already, I was losing consciousness. The last thing I saw before everything went black were four large figures joining Rhea.

* * *

When I came to, I was in a totally unfamiliar place. I was in a remarkably comfortable bed, the covers soft and clean. More importantly, I wasn't in much pain anymore, though I still felt incredibly weak.

It was in that moment that the force of what had happened to me hit me like… well, an explosion. That explosion had been massive. Frankly, it was a miracle my body was still in one piece. Then again, it might not have been without Rhea's intervention. But I had actually just died. Gone to the Underworld's entrance and everything. And it was all my fault. I'd been too rash, too… well, impulsive. My fatal flaw had actually proved fatal. My lungs constricted. My eyes filled with tears. My head pounded and my heart thundered. I forced myself to count to ten, trying to prevent a full-fledged panic attack. But it wouldn't work alone. I needed to distract myself. And what better way to do that than investigate my surroundings.

I looked around. I was in a cave, that much was clear. But it was a well-furnished cave. There were chairs and tables throughout. The floor was carpeted. There were some lamps. The place was honestly kind of homey. But there was no one around. I was certain that Rhea had to be somewhere nearby, but I would probably have to get up to find her. I groaned and sat up, pushing off the covers as I did so. It was at that point I realized I was completely naked. "What is it with me waking up in unfamiliar beds naked?" I wondered aloud, thinking back to a similar experience I'd had two years ago, when I'd woken up in the care of the Hunters. Luckily, the table next to my bed had some clothes – a simple beige shirt and drawstring pants the same color. I yanked them on, then stood up.

I wobbled when I did so. Pain shot up my left leg and my head swam. Okay, so maybe I still had some healing to do. I threw out my hand to steady myself and closed my eyes. Where my fingers met the cave wall, I felt a twinge of sensitivity. After a moment, my dizziness subsided. I looked at my left hand. It was an intense pinkish color. No wonder it was so sensitive. The skin was being grown back fresh. It'd probably been burned away completely by the explosion. Growing back skin after something like that shouldn't have been possible. But then, neither should coming back from the dead.

I checked my other arm. The robotics in my arm made audible groans as I moved it. It clearly wasn't doing great. But it was still working. For now. I decided to put it out of mind. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything I could do about it.

I turned and hobbled my way towards the front of the cave, continuing to look around. The cave really was quite nice. Finally, though, I made it to the mouth of the cave. I gasped at the view. The sun was setting behind the mountains in front of me. The cave seemed to be situated pretty high up on the side of a mountain. In front of me stretched woods, undisturbed by human settlement. The Adirondack mountains stood all around me in their majesty. Clear blue lakes glittered in the valleys below. It was breathtaking.

Nearby, Rhea sat on a log in front of a fire. She wore her hair in a simple ponytail. She'd changed out of her dress from earlier. Instead, she wore a plaid shirt and some of those fancy hiking pants. She honestly didn't look much like a deity. More like a middle aged woman who'd spent her whole life in the mountains. Next to her there was a stump fashioned like a chair. She didn't look up when I made it outside, but I sensed that she knew I was there. I staggered over and, with a fair bit of effort, managed to sit down without falling over. Finally, Rhea acknowledged my presence. She reached behind her log and grabbed something, passing it over to me. It was my sword. "I thought you might want this," she said. "I was unable to find your knife, though."

"Well nothing new there," I muttered. I closed my eyes, trying to focus, thinking back to the questions I'd had just after I'd been brought back – or even before then. "So, uh… great-grandmother… I have a few questions."

"You're wondering why I brought you back?" she asked. "And what I want with you, yes?"

"Well, yeah," I admitted.

Rhea chuckled. "Well, simply, I brought you back because you still have a part to play. Your destiny is not yet complete."

"But why exactly do you care about that?" I asked.

"Because without you my children are doomed," Rhea said. "I know the gods are not perfect, and I know that you aren't on good terms with many of them. But they are my family and I will not stand idly by while my ex-husband's lunatic son tries to kill them. You saw the images of what would happen without you. Frankly, even _with_ you it still might happen. But it will _definitely_ happen without you."

"So you brought me back from the dead," I said. "So what? You talked Hades into letting me out? Am I – am I immortal now?"

"Oh, no," Rhea said. "I'm already breaking multiple divine laws by interfering this much. And if you die again, there is no way I would be able to talk my eldest son into letting you out. As is, I barely convinced him to let you go this time."

I remembered the paperwork from the Underworld. "Temporary," I said aloud. "Charon said the form cleared me for a temporary pass. Does that mean that I… that I might have to go back after all this?"

Rhea frowned. "Unfortunately, it does seem that way. Hades has agreed to give you a pass until your prophecy has been completed. But after that… Well, it's possible that he'll let you keep living. He's done it before. But it's... it's not likely."

My stomach dropped. I felt equal measures panic and anger. The anger won out. "So you brought me back just so I can fulfill my use? Like a tool? And then what? I'm disposable after that?"

Rhea remained calm, though there was a new sternness in her voice when she next spoke. "Had you not been so reckless and thrown your life away, you would not be in this position. Be thankful for the time that I've bought you."

The words stung me. I didn't feel particularly thankful. I felt nauseous. Rhea was right. All this had been my own damn fault. I should have been more careful. I should have listened to all the warnings I'd been given. Even Mr. D had warned me for Poseidon's sake! Even so… "I was supposed to just let my family stay kidnapped?" I countered.

Rhea sighed. "You love your family. I understand that Elizabeth. I really do. Much of what I have done over the millennia has been for the sake of my family. But that does not mean that I have ever acted without putting in due thought and planning. I have never been impulsive. Your fatal flaw cost you your life, Elizabeth."

"Does everyone know my fatal flaw?" I grumbled.

"You make it fairly obvious," Rhea pointed out.

"Oh, gee," I said, "thanks for that. What now then? You saved me so I can go fulfill my prophecy and then return to the Underworld like a good little girl. Fine, whatever. But what now? Are you just going to send me on my way?"

"Oh no," Rhea said. "If I send you off now, you stand no chance when you fight Gaius. The last time you fought him, he cut your arm off. And he was barely trying. You need much more intensive training."

"And you're going to give me that training?" I asked.

"My Kouretes and I, yes," Rhea said. "They don't like hanging around the cave too much, too cramped they say. But you'll meet them tomorrow when we begin your training."

"Uh, I'm still not in great shape," I pointed out.

"Learning to fight well despite not being at one hundred percent is an important skill," Rhea said. "It will serve you well."

"Oh joy," I said. "I cannot tell you how _excited_ I am for all that." I probably shouldn't have been so sarcastic to the Titaness who'd just brought me back from the dead. But whatever. I wasn't in a very good mood. "And how long exactly will you be keeping me here? Because I'd really like to get back to looking for my family…"

Rhea's nostrils flared. "Even after dying you want to continue your quest to find them? You still believe you'll succeed?"

The tone in her voice made me shift uncomfortably. She had a point. But my desire to find them hadn't changed. "I know to be more careful now. I know that I need to take my time and think things through. I won't fall victim to my fatal flaw again."

"No," Rhea said sharply. "You will not be continuing your foolhardy search. After our training, you will be going back to Camp Half-Blood." My anger flared again, but before I could say anything, Rhea cut me off. "Besides, the path to your family will only become clear by staying with your fellow campers."

I couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or just trying to appease me, but I decided to drop it. No sense in arguing with Rhea. Besides, she did have a point. As much as I still wanted to find my family, it was doing just that that I'd died in the first place. And I wouldn't be getting another chance if I died again. Finally, after getting the same warning from so many others, the message finally sunk in. I'm not sure if it was Rhea, or if something had changed in me. I certainly didn't feel all that different...

I nodded, though I wasn't happy about it. "Fine. You're right. Sorry."

Rhea gave me a thin smile. "Very well. As I said, we begin your training tomorrow. For the rest of today, take it easy. Continue resting. You'll need your strength."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, I'll see you all relatively soon with the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 10: My Great-Grandma Puts Me In

**AN: Hello everyone! I am back with the next chapter! As always, thank you for your continued support. But enough of that - let's get straight into the review responses.**

 **First, from J. Cage: "** **Graham !. I've been waiting for that dude to make a cameo appearance since I read his tragic tale. And an incredible chapter bfalt."  
A: Yeah, I've honestly wanted to work him in somehow for a while. I'm glad it worked out to do so here :) And thank you for the compliment!**

 **From cghe: "Hey, you did it! Booted Graham Andrews into the story, but not an awkward boot at all, though. Is he eventually allowed into Elysium? Would be kind of unfair if he wasn't."  
A: Yeah. Like I said to J. Cage, I'd wanted to work him in as an easter egg for a while. So I'm glad it worked out to put him in. And yes, I would say that he probably would get into Elysium.**

 **From RockRoy: "Hehe, Elizabeth gets scolded by the Mother of the Gods :) At least she learns something from dying and temporarily coming back. Sometimes some character development has to be a bit harsh. :)"  
A: My version Rhea is big on the whole "tough love" thing, haha. And yeah, sometimes character development is driven by the deadly events.**

 **From Unicute17: "I hope Hades gives Elizabeth a nice long life!"  
A: Well, you'll have to wait and see**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "On one hand I really like that her fatal flaw has given her so much trouble so often, on the other hand it was painful watching her make the same mistake again and again. Thankfully she's finally learning.** **Also, was that homeless guy Graham Andrews?"  
A: Obviously Percy's fatal flaw played a big role throughout the original series. And in this regard, much as in many other regards, I'm attempting to mirror that while adding my own twist. Certainly, Elizabeth's mistakes had a more tragic effect on her state of well being. Still, sometimes the worst events in one's life can be the best teachers. And yes, that was Graham.**

 **From certainlynotfred15: "ahhhhhhhhhhhh this is so satisfying. :D this is so good I love your work. Also, Graham Andrews... nice. This is all so cool!"  
A: Thank you so much! I really appreciate it :)**

 **From cghe: "100 Reviews!** **Yeah!"  
A: AHHHHHH! YAY! THAT'S AWESOME! Thank you all SO much!**

 **And finally, from Person: "Wait, Elizabeth died?! huh! Well great chapter. I must have a very short term memory, I can't believe that I forgot about Elizabeth getting blown up. School changes people...** **Saw the Easter egg in there, Graham Andrews from that short story, which was by the way something incredibly sweet.** **Anyway, question...the one that all authors despise. What is your favorite book you have written? (and no, you can not say all of them. That is cheating)"  
A: Yup, Eliana rigged up those explosives and it killed Elizabeth. Luckily, Rhea was there to save her tail. And yeah, I really liked working in that easter egg.  
As for my favorite book I've written so far... it is really hard to pick. If we're going to stick to books that I've completed, I'd probably have to pick Elizabeth Jackson and the Magician's Maze. Magician's Maze had some of my favorite plot elements, not to mention some really important character development for some of my major characters - Elizabeth, Jocelyn, Matt - as well as the introduction of some new characters that I really like, such as Emily. And the whole idea of using the Labyrinth was really appealing to me, since the Labyrinth was one of my favorite things from the original series. But I am really excited about a lot of the things I've done and will do in this one, and so I might potentially end up liking this one more by the time I finish it. And that's not even to mention book 5, which I've already fully outlined and am really excited to get to work on when I finish this book. But right now, it's Magician's Maze. And just for shits and giggles, my favorite one-shot/short story I've written is The Tragic Tale of Graham Andrews. So yeah. That's my long-winded answer for you.**

 **Alright, that's all of those. DFTBA and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10: My Great-Grandma Puts Me in Boot Camp

I had hoped that the whole "dying and coming back to life" thing would make me stop having dreams. But no such luck. In my dream, I was walking down a hallway with Gaius, Eliana, and who I assumed was another demititan I didn't know. The unknown demititan had shoulder length, curly, tomato red hair, a supermodel body, and a simple, elegant white dress. In her hands, she held a tablet computer. Gaius was wearing his standard white button shirt and khaki pants. Eliana wore full armor. "The script looks good, Scarlett," Gaius said. "I'd like to start rehearsing it as soon as possible. For the actual broadcast, I'd like to be off script."

"Yes, sir," said the new demititan, typing notes into her tablet. _Script? Broadcast? What was he talking about?_

"Eliana, what news do you have?" Gaius asked.

Eliana had adopted a grim look on her face. "Bad news, sir. There was an… accident. Elizabeth Jackson… she ran away from camp and got in a fight with a monster that she couldn't handle. She's dead."

Gaius stopped dead in his tracks. Scarlett looked at him nervously. "Well," she said quietly. "I'll go check up on the twins and Pasiphae." She quickly walked off down a different hallway.

Gaius turned to Eliana, his golden eyes dark. "Elizabeth Jackson is dead?" he asked, his voice deadly quiet.

Eliana swallowed and took a step back. "Y-yes, Gaius. Unfortunately. She uh… got in a fight with a drakon." _A drakon? Really?_ I thought. _He's not gonna buy that._ "There… there wasn't anything left to recover."

"A drakon?" Gaius said, his voice even lower and quieter. "And tell me – how on earth did we not know about this drakon, hm? We keep tabs on every major monster. So how then did I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS DRAKON?!"

"It'd… it'd just returned to the surface," Eliana said, her voice a whimper.

Gaius ripped out his sword. "LEAVE!" he screamed at her.

Eliana bowed her head slightly, then ran off, practically sprinting. Gaius turned and went all Kylo Ren on the wall, leaving grooves several inches deep. His sword sparked angrily. Several chips appeared in the blade. He tossed the sword on the ground angrily and yanked a phone out of his pocket. He tapped an app, which apparently let him broadcast his voice throughout the complex, because the next words came through a speaker overhead. "Would someone come pick up my damaged sword and trash it? AND MAKE ME A NEW ONE!"

* * *

I was woken up by a deep voice yelling, "RISE AND SHINE!"

I screamed and fell out of bed at the voice, landing in a tangle of bed sheets and limbs on the cave floor, which was none too soft. I lay there on the floor for a moment, trying to get my bearings and attempting to sort out what I'd seen in my dream. So Gaius thought I was dead? Well, I mean, I had been for a bit there. It'd only been a matter of time before he found out. I was just surprised that Eliana had worked up the courage to tell him so quickly. I wondered what was going to happen with Eliana now, though. It seemed pretty clear that Gaius didn't totally buy the drakon thing. Did he suspect that Eliana had been behind my demise? It was hard to know. And it was even harder to know what he'd do next. He'd already lost Marcus – could he afford to punish Eliana too harshly? As good as he was, Gaius clearly couldn't do everything himself. He wouldn't have a council of demititan commanders if he could.

I shook my head. This wasn't getting me anywhere. I untangled my limbs from the sheets and staggered to my feet. My left leg was still in a ton of pain, which I could imagine wouldn't be good for whatever "training activity" Rhea had in store for me. I went ahead and changed into a new set of the beige clothes that Rhea was providing me. I was going to have to do something about these clothes. I didn't particularly care for beige.

 _Really Elizabeth?_ I thought to myself. _You just came back from the dead and you're concerned about the color of your clothes? Get your shit together._

When I staggered outside, I found Rhea waiting for me. She was standing with four Kouretes. They looked the same as they had in that dream I'd had before getting blown up: ten feet tall, hairy, and wearing clothes made out of fur and feathers. Each held a massive spear and a shield that could easily be used as a stretcher. In fact, they'd probably used one of those for me. Rhea was wearing the same hiking clothes she'd worn yesterday. "Good morning, Elizabeth. Are you ready for your first day of training?"

"Uh, I guess," I said. "My leg still hurts like hell, though."

"You'll have to work through it," Rhea said. "Learning to persist through injuries is an important skill."

"So you keep saying," I muttered. "So then, what are you having me do today?"

"You'll be hiking," Rhea said. She pointed out a narrow trail leading out of the clearing in front of our cave. "That trail will take you up to the summit of this mountain. It's about three miles. You've got one hour to complete it."

"One hour?" I asked incredulously. "With a messed up leg? That's –"

"That's the first part of your training," Rhea said. "I'll will wait for you up at the top." And then, in a flash, she was gone, leaving me with the Kouretes.

I turned to them. "I don't suppose you guys are here to carry me up the mountain?"

"WE ARE ONLY HERE TO MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT FALL AND KILL YOURSELF," one of them shouted, making my ears pop. Birds in the nearby trees flew away, terrified.

"Right, great," I managed. I pointed at my bare feet. "Do I at least get hiking boots?"

"NO YOU DO NOT," the same one shouted.

"ALSO," shouted another, "YOUR TIME HAS ALREADY STARTED. YOU BETTER HURRY."

"Oh great," I said. "This'll be fun."

"WE ARE GLAD YOU THINK SO," shouted the third Kourete. Apparently these guys didn't really understand sarcasm. This stay with Rhea was looking to be a _long_ one.

* * *

Despite all the disadvantages I had going into the hike, I still managed to complete it in three hours, which I thought was pretty good. I mean, I was exhausted, my leg hurt worse than ever, and my feet were all cut up, but I still managed to finish the hike.

Rhea was unimpressed. "You're late," she remarked flatly when I arrived at the summit.

I glared at her. "I finished it, didn't I? I mean, considering the state I'm in, you've got to admit that finishing the hike at all is pretty damn impressive. And, by the way, why the hell didn't you give me shoes?" I pointed at my bloody feet.

Rhea shrugged. "My training will be harsh. But it will produce results. As for your feet," she bent down and laid her hands on each foot in turn, the cuts healing, though they were still tender.

"Thanks, I guess," I muttered.

"You are welcome," Rhea said. "But do keep in mind that this training will not be a walk in the park. And don't expect me to heal up every cut and bruise you get over the course of your time here. Now, your next training activity will be combat practice with the Kouretes. Today you will be drilling weaponless combat. I'll let Kyle explain."

" _Kyle?_ "

The first Kourete to speak earlier stepped forward. "I AM KYLE. TODAY WE WILL BE PRACTICING WEAPONLESS COMBAT. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO LEARN HOW TO FIGHT WITHOUT A BLADE AS YOU MAY, ON OCCASION, FIND YOURSELF WITHOUT ONE. IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, KNOWING HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF IS AN IMPERATIVE SKILL. WE WILL START WITH WEAPONLESS COMBAT AGAINST ANOTHER UNARMED OPPONENT. ONCE YOU HAVE MASTERED THAT, WE WILL PROCEED TO WEAPONLESS COMBAT AGAINST AN ARMED OPPONENT."

It took me a second to respond, since my head was pounding from the sheer volume of his voice. "Uh, okay. And how will I be practicing these skills?"

"YOU WILL FIGHT US," Kyle shouted.

"You're way bigger than me," I pointed out. "Isn't that a bit unfair?"

"LEARNING TO FIGHT LARGER OPPONENTS IS AN IMPORTANT SKILL," Kyle replied. "AS IS FIGHTING AGAINST UNFAIR ODDS."

"Is everything an 'important skill'?" I asked. "Because you guys seem to like to toss that phrase around a lot."

"YES," Kyle answered. "WE SHALL BEGIN OUR TRAINING IMMEDIATELY."

Before I could say anything in response, Kyle had already tackled me to the ground. This was going to be awful.

* * *

I wasn't sure how long I was in training with Rhea. All the days seemed to blend together, and after the second one, my phone was dead, so I couldn't even check the date on that. At first the training didn't seem to be getting me anywhere except a one way ticket to Pain City. But over time I did start noticing some incremental improvements.

Meanwhile, at night, Rhea continued to hammer into my head how important it was that I be ready to fight Gaius, how I was the only chance the gods had to survive his plot. But she remained frustratingly vague on the details. "If you could tell me what his plan is," I pointed out one night, "I'd have a better chance to stop him."

"I have already bent the rules as far as they can possibly go," Rhea said. "Besides, I don't know all the details. Just… the general outlines."

"Can you give me the general outlines, then?" I asked.

"Drop it, Elizabeth," she said. "I am doing and saying all I can."

Rhea also remained stubborn on the better clothes front. Nor was the food very good. Her rationale for these things was, "This isn't about comfort, Elizabeth. This is about making sure you are ready." Oh goodie.

Then there was the matter of my family. Sure, Rhea may have convinced me that chasing after them was a bad idea – and dying really had knocked me down a few pegs – but I was still desperate to find them. Rhea continued to insist that only by going back to camp after training with her could I find them. I hoped that meant they would be at Boldt Castle – that when we stormed the castle, I would find my family. Still, Rhea had not directly said they would be at Boldt Castle. Like everything else, she remained frustratingly vague.

Nevertheless, I started to admire Rhea. I mean, she was a harsh drill sergeant. But she did seem to genuinely care for me, despite her harshness. One time when we talked, she expressed her sorrow that she hadn't been able to secure a promise from Hades that I could continue living even after my prophecy with Gaius was complete. I mean, that was as close to "I love you, great-granddaughter," I was going to get from her. And after my initial anger at Rhea bringing me back as a tool against Gaius had faded, I realized that I totally got her motivation. Rhea wasn't about the spotlight. I mean, even during the Titan and Giant Wars, she'd stayed clear of the conflict. She clearly preferred peace and quiet. But something about the war with Gaius had finally made her enter the ring. She was worried for her family. I could relate.

After a while, I finally started to notice some serious changes to my physique. Don't get me wrong, my years of training at Camp Half-Blood and multitude of quests hadn't been easy. I was in pretty good shape from all of that. But training with Rhea and the Kouretes brought me to a whole new level. The near constant hiking turned my legs to pure muscle. My arm muscles started to bulge slightly. My abs even picked up the lines demarking a six pack. I stopped losing so badly against the Kouretes (although they still won almost all the time). My time for hiking the mountain dropped steadily with each progressive time through. The bottoms of my feet became calloused. My body was approaching Olympian (the athletes, not the gods) levels of toned.

My robotic arm, on the other hand, did not enjoy my time in the wild so much. The damage it had sustained in both the restaurant and the explosion had not rendered it unusable, exactly, but it certainly made the arm perform less than stellarly. At times it would twitch at inopportune moments, such as when I was reaching for a handhold on a sheer rock face, or even seize up completely. That wasn't to mention how loud the servos in the arm were becoming from the strain of working in their damaged state. Rhea and the Kouretes knew nothing about robotics, so they couldn't do anything to help me. Jake would have to take a look at it when I got back to camp.

The thought of returning to camp and seeing my friends again filled me with anxiety. Setting aside the fact that Rhea had made it abundantly clear that I _was not_ to tell anyone that I'd died and come back, nor that I might be taken back to Hades after my prophesized fight with Gaius, there was the anger and betrayal that I would no doubt face from them when I returned. Jake, for instance, had helped me on my quest – albeit reluctantly. I owed him. Yet, I'd disappeared. After talking on the phone to him in the Dancing Bears, that was it. He was no doubt crazy with worry and not a little bit angry at me for dropping off like that with no word. Besides which, I'd asked him to lie to his boyfriend – or at least not tell his boyfriend that he knew about what I was up to.

Which of course made me think of Theo. Theo was one of my best friends in the world. He'd stuck with me through some of the worst times of my life, and he'd saved my ass more times than I could count. Right up to the very night that I ran away from camp he'd been nothing but supportive of me. Friends like Theo were invaluable, but I'd just abandoned him with barely a second thought. As soon as I got in my head that I was going to track down my family, that was it.

And then there was Katherine. She'd been like the older sister I'd never had. I had never valued her as much as I should have, and then I'd left. She hadn't even been around when I ran away – she'd had to return to camp from her mission to discover that I was gone. And poor Hannah! She'd been so excited to go to Camp Half-Blood only to have that experience marred by the disappearance of our families. And then, only a day after that, I'd disappeared. I may not have spent all that much time with Hannah, but I'd spent enough to know that she looked up to me. Without me around, I wasn't sure how she was going to handle the emotional turmoil she was no doubt facing. I only hoped that her new friends and the arrival of the others, including her sister, from Camp Jupiter would help.

My friends from Camp Jupiter were probably just as hurt by my disappearance. Sierra was strong – she wouldn't be praetor if she wasn't – but she'd already been cracking under the stress. Even though we'd drifted apart the last few years, we were still close. I should've been there to support her, but I wasn't. I was too consumed by my own emotions to bother helping anyone else. Emily, who'd really shown her metal in the Labyrinth last year, was still trying to build her confidence. We'd become a lot closer than we'd ever been the last year or so. She'd probably wanted to see me when she got to Camp Half-Blood. Just like Sierra, I should have been there for her. I'd failed her.

And Matt! My little brother was no doubt royally pissed at me. Quite frankly, he had every right to be. We had depended on each other for a long time. And now that we were facing our most difficult emotional challenge yet, I was nowhere to be found. According to Amy, Matt was already throwing himself into his work as centurion to avoid dealing with those painful feelings as soon as he heard our parents had gone missing. That was probably only getting worse, thanks to me. Amy would no doubt try to help him, but I doubted he'd let her in.

And then, of course, there was Augustus. He probably only resented me more than ever now. My guilt over the way things had gone down between us had reached an all-time high. Our relationship hadn't exactly been easy or smooth, but I should've been able to trust that he had my back, and he should've been able to trust that I had his. Instead, we'd tried beating the shit out of each other. I resolved that when I got back to camp, I'd make an effort to try and become friends with him again, if that was at all possible. I might've damaged any chances of that beyond repair. But I had to give it a shot.

But above all, there was Jocelyn. If anything, my time away – especially my brief stint in the Underworld – had made me more acutely aware of how I felt about her. Not to mention bringing into perspective how precious time with your loved ones was. Theo had been right – I think, in the back of my mind, I'd always _liked_ her, but until recently I'd always had hetero crushes as well, which made discerning how I felt about Jocelyn difficult. Hell, Augustus and I had actually dated for quite a while. If that hadn't complicated figuring out how I felt about Jocelyn, I don't know what did. But our banter, my keen awareness of how much more… mature looking she was, the way that her voice was one of the only things that could reliably pull me out of panic attacks all pointed to the fact that I'd had romantic feelings for her for a long time – possibly since we met more than three years ago.

Of course, I had no clue if she'd felt the same way about me. Another thing Theo was right about – she wasn't a very open person, which was almost definitely related to her life before Camp Half-Blood. Since her mom had been a bank robber, Jocelyn had, understandably, lived a pretty isolated life. Her mom was the only one she'd been close to. And then her mom died. As a result, Jocelyn had shut herself off from other people. Theo and I were the only two people she'd truly opened up to. In fact, if Theo was right about yet another thing, I had been the person she was closest to.

 _Had been_ being the operative phrase there. My disappearance had no doubt shattered what trust she did have towards me. And given that it had taken us three years to get to the point we were at before I disappeared, I wasn't sure if there was any way I could repair our friendship. And I might as well forget the crush I had on her. Given my actions, whatever chance I did have with her had been killed much more thoroughly than I'd been.

And even setting all of that aside – even if there was, somehow, a chance that she felt the same way about me as I did her – there was the pesky business of me being, you know, on a temporary pass in the world of the living. It was almost like I was here on a work visa. But that visa would expire, and Hades would probably drag me back to the Underworld. Part of me kept trying to argue that that wasn't set in stone, that Hades might let me keep living even after the prophecy was complete. It had happened before. But the more rational part of me knew that such thinking was irresponsible. In all likelihood, I'd have to go back to being dead.

Frankly, I'd concerned on isolating myself emotionally from everyone once I got back, just to save them the pain of losing me when I died (again). But that was a bad idea. Isolation like that wasn't good for people. Rhea had said as much when I brought the idea up to her. "Besides," she'd said, "you should cherish the time you _do_ have with your friends." She was right. I couldn't cut myself off from everyone. But getting into a relationship with someone when there was a foregone expiration on the relationship – that being my death, no less – was exactly the sort of irresponsible, selfish thinking that had no doubt already put my friends through enough emotional garbage on my behalf.

But my heart did not want to cooperate. Every time I thought about Jocelyn, it beat faster.

* * *

The morning of my departure started like any other. I woke up, pulled on my beige clothes, and went outside to receive my training assignment for the day. As usual, Rhea and the Kouretes were waiting for me. Unusually, there was a pegasus with a coat of fur so dark, he almost looked blue there with them. I recognized him.

"Rocco?" I wondered aloud.

Rocco whinnied. _Yo, miss, what's up?_

"Uh, I've been in training with Rhea," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"He's come at my request," Rhea said. "He's here to take you back."

"Back?" The word almost didn't compute. As much as I thought about what might happen when I got back to camp, the fact that it was happening, now, without any warning, caught me completely off guard. Rhea and the Kouretes were the only ones I'd really interacted with since my death – discounting the short phone call I'd had with Nico right after the explosion. Now I would officially be returning to the world of the living. It was a bit nerve racking to say the least.

"Yes," Rhea replied. "It is time you go back to camp. I would've liked more time to train you. After all, Zeus had years of training before he faced Kronos. But your friends set sail for Boldt Castle tomorrow. Without you, they will fail. I have foreseen that much."

Somehow I doubted that. How much difference could one extra soldier really make? But regardless, Rhea had promised that I get answers about my family. Not to mention that I'd get to see my friends again. No matter how nervous I was, and no matter how angry they were, I would be really happy to see them again.

I bowed to Rhea. "Thank you for all you've done."

Rhea smiled. "You're welcome, Elizabeth. Remember the skills you've learned in training. They will serve you well."

My goodbye with the Kouretes was significantly less formal; they tackled me in a group hug. "WE WILL MISS YOU, ELIZABETH," Kyle shouted.

"I'll miss you guys, too," I choked out, struggling to breathe through the crushing hug. After they let me go and I caught my breath, I mounted Rocco.

"Remember," Rhea said, "it is imperative that you keep your death and rebirth a secret."

"What about Rocco?" I asked.

Rhea looked my pegasus friend in the eyes. "Oh, I'm sure he'll keep the secret. Won't you?"

 _Oh, definitely_ , Rocco replied nervously. Then, in a much smaller voice (does it count as a voice when it's telepathic?), _Please don't turn me into glue_.

Rhea took that as a "yes, I can keep a secret," and turned back to me, raising a hand in farewell. "Goodbye, Elizabeth. May the gods be with you."

I waved back, then spurred Rocco into a takeoff. We shot off into the sky in a split second, quickly leaving behind the cave and mountainside that had been my home the last few weeks. I looked back to see if I could spot it, but the cave, Rhea, and the Kouretes were already gone.

 _To camp then, miss?_ Rocco asked.

I looked at the beige pants I was wearing and at the dirt caked onto my arms. I hadn't exactly had a chance to shower while living in the mountains. And if I showed up back at camp looking like the girl version of Tarzan with completely unfamiliar clothes, that would raise a lot of questions that I wasn't sure I could BS answers to. I needed to clean up and fix my wardrobe. "We actually have one stop to make first," I said to Rocco. "Take me to my apartment back in New York City."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, that's it for now. I'll see you guys with the next chapter soon enough. Peace!**


	12. Chapter 11: My Reception is Mixed

**AN: Hello all and Merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate it. Those of you who don't, well I hope that you're doing well! This chapter is something of a Christmas present for you guys. I know I disappeared on you again - the last few weeks of the semester were really rough on me - but I'm back with another chapter, and this one is pretty long. I'm on winter break now, though, so hopefully I'll be able to get ahead on these over break and get back to posting a little more regularly. I'll update you guys on that when I post the next chapter, whenever that may be. Anyway, enough from me, let's get to the review responses.**

 **From Unicute17: "** **Me sad NO JOCABETH!"  
A: Well don't count your chickens before they hatch. Anything could happen.**

 **From certainlynotfred15: "Kylo Ren! XD loved it!** **And is ol' Lizzie dear gay or bi?"  
A: Thanks! I like slipping in references to other things I'm a fan of when I can. And Elizabeth is bi.**

 **From RockRoy: "Wait, pegasi get turned into mythical glue? Those Kouretes were funny :)** **Now, I'm definitely eager to see what happens next."  
A: I don't think they really get turned into glue, but I feel like they're smart enough to know about how horse hooves used to be used in glue making (and maybe still do, idk), so they'd be worried about it. I'm pretty sure Blackjack references it at some point, too. And yeah, I had a lot of fun writing the Kouretes. As for what'll happen next... well that's why you're here, isn't it?**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Elizabeth. It's an old saying, but I'm pretty sure it's true. And I'm glad she got stronger and better."  
A: I feel like you're right about that saying. And yeah, she'll definitely need her newfound strength moving forward. Things will not be easy for her.**

 **From AngelOfTheGhosts: "Absolutely amazing! I wonder how Joce and Theo will react to her return!"  
A: You're about to find out...**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Good for you, Elizabeth! You're seeing a therapist! That is a good way to express your anger!"  
A: Yeah, therapy really helped her. I mean, that's why she gets a lot less panic attacks in this book. And did you reread this book? Because I noticed that this review wa back on chapter 2...**

 **From Person: "Excited for the next chapter. And thanks for the beautiful long answer to my question. I fully appreciate it.** **This is a question evolving on other stuff besides the amazing world of Percy Jackson (somebody, I will stop asking questions...)** **Anyway, have you read Harry Potter, Fablehaven, or The Thief.** **Or watched Avatar: the last airbender or Naruto.** **If not, I recommend someday that you do and...will you ever write anything of fan fiction involving other universes?"  
A: I love answering these questions at the beginning of chapters (even if my response is just "spoilers"), so feel free to keep them coming! As for those various other things you mentioned, I have read Harry Potter (multiple times) and watched Avatar: The Last Airbender (multiple times) and they are two of my absolutely favorite fictional universes (right up there with what I call the "Riorverse"). I haven't read or seen those others before, but I'll try to give them a shot over my break. As for writing stories for other universes, I have considered it. I've even tossed around a couple of ideas in my head for Harry Potter or Pokemon (another one of my favorites) fics. But I'm not going to commit to a story idea that I am not 100% committed to, especially as my life gets crazier and crazier. I really think that I have a story worth telling with Elizabeth Jackson, so I fully intend to see it all the way through. I'm not sure that I have stories worth telling for anything else. If I come up with an idea that I really feel committed to, though, I would probably write a story in another universe.**

 **13Missing11My9Angelo16: "Absolutely amazing! That sounds exactly like something Rhea would do! XD Glad you're back and i hope you worked out a schedule! ;)"  
A: Well thanks, I'm glad you liked my interpretation of Rhea. As for my schedule... I'm still trying to work that out. But I'll let you guys know if I'm able to get back to a regular one.**

 **Anyway, that's all from me for now. On with the chapter. Merry Christmas and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 11: My Reception is Mixed

In what felt like no time at all, Rocco touched down on the balcony at my apartment. I hopped down, staggering slightly as I did so. It had been quite a while since I'd ridden a Pegasus, not to mention the fact that my left leg was still stiff. I pushed open the glass doors into the apartment and walked inside. It was just as I'd left it – a complete mess. The only difference now was the thick layer of dust covering everything. Rocco followed me in, ducking his head to get inside. _Holy moly,_ he remarked. _Did this place get hit by a hurricane or something?_

"Or something," I confirmed. "Listen, chill out here for a little bit. I've gotta go shower and put on some new clothes before we go back to camp."

 _Good thinking, miss,_ Rocco said. _I wasn't gonna say nothing, but you don't look so good._

"Ah gee, thanks," I grumbled. I made my way upstairs. I stepped over the door into my room. My dresser was pretty bare – there were only a couple of shirts and a singular pair of black jeans in there. I grabbed an orange Camp Half-Blood one as a kind of peace offering. I was worried that I'd be going into a fight there. Maybe showing off my loyalty to camp I could alleviate some of that anger.

Next I checked my closet. A singular leather jacket hung inside. I frowned. At one point I'd had like five of these. Over the last year or so, I'd either lost or destroyed all but this one – the latest one being burned up in the explosion that had cost me my life. I sure hoped that I could keep this one in one piece.

I yanked out my phone. I wasn't sure whether it would charge at all. The screen was practically destroyed. There was some dirt in the charging port. Nevertheless, I plugged it into a spare charger next to my bed, then went across the hall to the bathroom, new clothes in tow. I made for my bathroom, but when I made it in there I found broken glass all over the place. "Oh yeah," I muttered to myself. "I punched out the mirror."

With some trepidation, I went down the hall into my parents' room. The flipped bed, which had been turned into a pincushion for arrows, was still painful to look at. I felt my heart sink and my stomach lurch, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it used to be. I wasn't sure if I was just getting used to the fact that my parents were gone or if my time with Rhea had hardened my emotions. I hoped it was the second. I didn't particularly like the idea of getting used to my parents' disappearance.

I turned away from the bed and towards the master bathroom. I rarely went into my parents' bathroom. Like the one I used to share with Matt, there were two sinks in front of a big mirror. The room itself was larger, though, with a standup shower _and_ a separate bath tub. I set down my clothes and glanced in the mirror. It was the first time I'd seen my reflection since the explosion. What I saw made me yelp.

Rocco whinnied with concern downstairs. "I'm fine!" I shouted.

I turned back to the mirror and really examined myself. Boy was I glad that I'd thought to come back and clean up before returning to camp. I looked… bad, to put it lightly. My black hair was tangled with twigs and leaves caught in it. It was uneven in places, probably because some of it had been burned off in the explosion. My skin was coated in dirt, caked on from my weeks in the wilderness. My eyes were sunken – and they'd gotten darker, too. My grey irises were now so dark that they were almost black. My nose, which had already been crooked, was now crooked in a second place. When Drake had broken my nose, it had bent right by the tip. The new spot was right on the bridge of my nose, no doubt due to the explosion as well.

I shook myself away from my reflection and got in the shower. It took me a good hour to scrub off all of the dirt, ash, and even dried blood that was stuck to my skin. And my robotic arm was a matter all its own. The crap stuck to the celestial bronze just did not want to come off. Even after I'd gotten all the dirt, mud, and ash off, I still noticed some spots where the metal had been permanently blackened. And something else I noticed – the electrical tape I'd put on there so long ago had fused to the metal. Jake was gonna be pissed.

After I got out, I reexamined myself in the mirror. Good as new… more or less. My metal arm was still pretty messed up, my nose was obviously still crooked in two places now, but at least I was clean. And luckily my eyes had lightened slightly, though they were still darker than I remembered. Of course, there was still the matter of my horribly uneven hair. I brushed it as best I could, then put it in a ponytail. I frowned. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't all that noticeable anymore.

Standing there, in front of the mirror, I really noticed some of the physical changes my time with Gaea had brought about. When I was in the mountains, I'd _noticed_ my muscles becoming toned, but seeing it in the mirror with a clean body was something totally different. It looked weird. I knew that was my arm, I knew those were my abs, but I had such a hard time believing it.

I pulled on my clothes before I had an existential crisis. Finally, I left my parents' bathroom and went back down the hall into my room where I pulled on a spare glove and a pair of black skate sneakers – my only pair of combat boots had been destroyed in the explosion. Finally, I strapped my sword to my waist. Then I checked my phone. It had built up quite a bit of charge while I was showering. I sighed, preparing myself for the onslaught, then turned on my phone.

As soon as the phone turned on I was bombarded with text messages and missed phone calls and every other kind of notification imaginable. I scrolled through them quickly – almost all of them were people from camp, worried about me. A few people were conspicuously absent from my list of notifications – Matt, Augustus, but most significantly, Jocelyn. That kinda hurt. I mean, I knew that she'd be pissed beyond all reason, but the lack of a message from her was proof of that staring me right in the face. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like when we actually saw each other…

I shoved my phone – and that thought – away. There was no sense answering those messages right now. I'd be at camp soon, anyway.

So finally, I returned downstairs to Rocco. "Better?" I asked.

He neighed. _Loads, miss. You look like your old self._

"That was the idea," I confirmed. My heart was thundering in my chest from nerves. "Alright. I guess it's time to go back."

* * *

Rocco dropped me off at the top of Half-Blood Hill. _Sure you don't want me to stick around? Back you up?_

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," I said. My heart thundering and lungs constricting said otherwise, but I forced myself to stay focused. "Go on back to the stables," I told Rocco. "I'll see you later. And uh… thanks for everything."

Rocco whinnied. _You got it. I got your back any day of the week, miss._

With that, he took off, gliding back towards the stables. I glanced over at Peleus, the guard dragon. "Hey buddy," I said. "How you been?"

He looked at me lazily, almost like, _Don't you have something better to do than interrupt my nap?_ And then he promptly went back to sleep. And with that lukewarm welcome, I stepped forward and began making my way down Half-Blood Hill.

I could tell immediately that things had changed. The air felt… different somehow. Tense. Up at the strawberry fields, an entire Roman fort had been constructed – Camp Jupiter's home away from home before the big excursion to Boldt Castle. Speaking of which, out on the Sound, I noticed two cruise ships moored to a massive dock that hadn't been there when I left a month ago. A crane was loading heavy equipment onto the two ships. Thick black smoke was pouring out of the forges – clearly the Hephaestus campers were working overtime. Over the woods I saw smoke rising, too. Bunker Nine was also busy. Down in the valley below, there wasn't an idle camper to be seen. People were drilling in phalanx formations. Some Romans were drilling some of their formations. A few campers were practicing in the ten foot mech suits, too. I couldn't see the archery range from here, but presumably it was packed with campers getting in practice. War was fully upon us, and it looked like everyone knew. We were about to engage in the largest military operation demigods had done in decades – and certainly the largest joint operation between the two camps ever. I was suddenly weighed down by guilt. I should've been here, helping camp get ready for the coming battle, especially considering that my whole mission to find my family had been nothing but a wild goose chase that had resulted in my death.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the person coming up behind me until they spoke, their voice familiar. "Halt. Who are you? Why are you here?"

I turned. The boy standing there was fifteen, with messy blond hair, sea green eyes, and a face painfully similar to Dad's. He wore a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. On his shirt was pinned the badge of Centurion. And he had a gladius pointed right at me. When I turned, though, he gaped, letting his sword drop. "Elizabeth?"

"Hi, Matt," I said nervously. "Did you really forget what I looked like from the back?" I waited, trying to judge what his reaction would be. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't sure what his reaction would be, either.

Finally, after an abnormally long silence, he said, "I'm not sure whether I should hug you or punch you." It wasn't a joke. He sounded quite angry, actually.

"I uh… think I'd prefer a hug," I said in a feeble attempt to break the tension.

Matt sheathed his sword, sighing. But he still obliged me with a hug. I relaxed slightly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad… And then Matt stepped back and punched me hard in the shoulder. " _Ow!_ " I yelped.

Matt's face had turned red with fury. "Where were you?!" he yelled. "When I got here, a month ago, I expected to find you waiting for me. And they tell me you _ran away_?! After the rest of our family was already gone, you just decided, 'Screw it, I'll disappear, too.'"

"It wasn't quite like that," I said weakly. I knew I stood on very weak ground. Still, I did my best to justify myself to him, even though I could barely justify my actions to myself anymore. "I was looking for our family. I thought I'd be able to find them…"

"Oh, I can see that worked out real well for you, too," Matt said harshly, continuing his tirade. "Do you even know how long you've been gone? A _month_. _A month, Elizabeth!_ Did you consider, for even a second, how I would feel? To lose not just my parents, but my sister too? Did you care?"

"Of course I cared," I said. "But I couldn't just sit by and do nothing while Gaius held our family."

"Oh yeah, cause the rest of us were just chilling," Matt droned. "We relocated Camp Jupiter here for shits and giggles, couldn't you tell? Yeah, we came over for bingo night and just decided, 'Eh, why not? We'll stay.'" Before I could respond to his sarcastic tirade, Matt had shifted topics. "So why now? Why come back now? Clearly you have no issue just running off and doing your own thing."

I really wanted to tell him the truth – tell him everything. But I decided that keeping my promise to Rhea was too important. Who knew what would happen if word got out that I'd been resurrected? All Hades would break loose, no doubt. Possibly literally. Besides which, I didn't particularly want to get into the details of how this whole "being alive" thing was, likely, a temporary arrangement. I was trying not to think about it myself. Explaining it to another person would just stress me out even worse.

So instead of explaining the whole story to him, I said, "I ran out of leads to follow," which, in fairness, wasn't _technically_ a lie.

Matt laughed mirthlessly. "Oh yeah, right. That's what happened. It took you a month to run out of leads to follow."

"I know you're pissed at me," I said morosely. "Frankly, I can't blame you. But I'm back now. And I just want to say how sorry I am. The last few weeks –"

"Okay, enough," Matt said. "I don't want to hear a freaking soliloquy. Just… apology accepted, or whatever." He sighed. "Now that you're back, I'd better take you to the Big House to see Chiron."

He immediately began walking briskly towards the Big House. "That went well," I muttered to myself. Tears stung my eyes. Despite the words, "apology accepted," I knew that Matt was still livid. If everyone was like this… Well I wasn't sure how I was going to operate without any friends. I wiped the tears out of my eyes. First things first. I had to follow Matt to the Big House. If anyone could help me figure out how to get back in everyone's good graces, it would be Chiron, assuming that he would even speak to me.

As I followed Matt towards the Big House, some other campers noticed me. They'd stare after me, whispering to each other as I passed by. "Well I guess the news of my return is out, now," I noted.

"What did you expect?" Matt said, an edge still to his voice. "Were you planning on just hiding in the shadows for the rest of the summer?"

"No," I retorted. "I just… would have rather let certain people know that I'm back in person."

"Like Theo and Jocelyn."

"Yeah."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I could tell by Matt's demeanor that he was doing his best not to yell at me more. For my part, I was trying my best not to focus on how angry he was and hold back my tears. I had expected this anger, but actually facing it was a whole different matter. Based on how he was now, I wasn't sure if Matt would ever actually forgive me.

Finally, we reached the Big House. Matt continued in the lead, so he went around the corner first. "Chiron, I've got someone here who needs to speak with you."

And then I came around the corner. Chiron was sitting at a table in wheelchair form, across from Gwendolyn. "H-hi Chiron," I said. "Gwendolyn."

"Oh thank the gods," he said, letting out a deep sigh. If I wasn't mistaken, there were tears in his eyes.

Gwendolyn shook her head, amazed. "Well I'll be damned," she said. "Elizabeth Jackson is back."

I walked forward to the table where they were sitting. "Yeah. I uh… I'm sorry about that. I know I've been gone for a long time and that… that I've almost definitely disappointed you more than I could ever know… but I just wanted to say that… well, I'm sorry."

Chiron smiled weakly. "My dear, I am just relieved to see you back here, safe and sound…"

"Ditto," Gwendolyn said. Having gotten closer, I noticed that she really didn't look very well. Only the ends of her hair retained her vibrant purple hair dye. The bags under her eyes were so deep that I wondered whether she'd gotten any sleep at all since I'd been away. Even her voice was a croak. They both hugged me briefly.

After we split apart, Chiron looked at Matt, whose lips were pursed – an unusual look for him. "Matt, would you go retrieve Katherine? She'll want to know that her cabin mate is back. And we have quite a bit to fill Elizabeth in on." Matt nodded. Before he could go, Chiron added, "And try not to let everyone know about Elizabeth's return. We don't want to overwhelm her with everyone at once."

Matt shifted. "I'll do my best, but I'm pretty sure word already got out. A few people saw us on our way down here." He departed.

I sat down at the table with Chiron and Gwendolyn, silent for a moment. It was sort of awkward. Chiron and Gwendolyn truly didn't seem upset at me, which I was grateful for. But even so, after a person has been gone for a month – and the person in question left without a word – it's hard to know where to start. Finally, Gwendolyn broke the ice. "So… why don't you fill us in on what you've been up to while we wait for Katherine?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "Uh, well you guys can probably guess most of it. I went looking for my family. I ran out of leads to follow. So I came back."

"Uh huh," Gwendolyn said, clearly unconvinced. "So then… what happened to your car?"

I frowned. _Uh oh_. "Um… what do you mean?"

"Well Matt brought you over from the front of the house," Gwendolyn said. "If you'd parked in the back, you would've come around from the other side. And I doubt Matt would have been accompanying you. So then, what happened to your car?"

I had to think quickly – I really felt like breaking Rhea's rule about staying quiet would only end badly for me. "I… totaled it," I lied (although not necessarily untrue – the car had been destroyed when the cabin exploded, according to Rhea). "I hadn't slept in a while and I dozed off at the wheel. Crashed into a tree. I ditched it because I didn't want to get caught up with the police."

"So is that what happened to your nose?" Gwendolyn asked. "I see you broke it again."

I touched the newly bent part of my nose self-consciously. "Yeah. I uh… didn't notice it immediately when the crash happened. I had other priorities, I guess."

Gwendolyn opened her mouth to keep questioning me, but Chiron cut her off. "Let her be, Gwendolyn," he said. I could tell he didn't believe me either. But he also seemed to know that I was unable to tell them what really happened. I appreciated his respecting of that. Of course, that also made me feel guilty about lying to him. "Remember, what matters is that Elizabeth is back."

Gwendolyn held up her hands. "Not saying it's not, just curious…"

"Well, let's not overwhelm her by grilling her," Chiron said. "Besides, we've got a lot of things to talk about besides that."

"You're damn right we do," said a new voice. I turned in my chair. Matt had returned with Katherine, who was grinning. "Elizabeth freaking Jackson. I knew you'd be back."

I stood up. "Hey, Katherine. Uh… sorry for disappearing. I just –"

Katherine waved her hand. "Ah, save it. We're good, Elizabeth. You didn't do anything I wouldn't have done." She gave me a hug. "I was worried about you," she added quietly.

"You're not mad?" I choked out, temporarily overcome with emotion.

"Of course not," Katherine said as she backed up. "I mean, I obviously wish you hadn't run off, but you're here now. No reason to be mad about something that's already happened. We need to move on. There's more important things going on."

"Well maybe being mad is a bit understandable," Matt muttered. I clenched my fists, upset, as my heart sunk even further.

"But let's not get into that," Chiron said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Please, everyone, sit down. There's a lot that Elizabeth needs to know by tomorrow." I returned to my seat. Katherine sat across the table from me. Matt chose to remain standing. He leaned against the railing behind Gwendolyn.

"The Boldt Castle operation," I said. "I remember. So what's the plan?"

"We've sent out a few high altitude scouting missions," Katherine explained. "Kids of Zeus or Aeolus that could fly, other campers on Pegasi, and so on, and we got some good pictures of Boldt Castle as it stands now. It's pretty wild. There are all sorts of fortifications along the beaches. That's not to mention the massive ballistae and catapults they've installed on the island. The one big dock where most ships usually let off passengers is the most heavily fortified landing zone, so we obviously won't be able to debark there. And those two cruise ships the Hermes campers… acquired are too large and slow to adequately avoid the heavy weaponry on Heart Island."

"So how are we going to land our forces?" I asked.

"The plan is to debark a couple miles up-river from Boldt Castle," Matt explained shortly. "We already had some veterans volunteer to set up shop for us there and get smaller landing craft ready. However, with such large numbers and those giant mech suits to transport, the landing craft still won't be all that fast or maneuverable. That's why the first stage of the operation will be to land small strike teams on Heart Island to sabotage at least a few of their heavy weapons. Then we can land the rest of our soldiers and, more importantly, the mech suits."

"Have all the strike teams been chosen yet?" I asked.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Let me guess? You want to lead one?"

"Well… yeah," I said nervously. "I'd uh… I'd like to." Despite Matt's reaction, I felt like leading one of these strike teams was the perfect way to prove to everyone that I was back, and I intended to stick around. Besides which, Rhea had said that I would make a huge difference in this battle, and leading one of these strike teams seemed to be the best way to do that.

To clear the awkwardness in the air, Chiron said, "Several strike team leaders have, indeed, been chosen. However, last I knew Elesa, Spencer, Sierra, and Tony were looking for one or two more."

"The decision does ultimately lie with them," Gwendolyn added. "Since you guys are heading into such a huge combat operation, they've assumed a lot more power. The war council still meets and all, but the four of them call all of the shots."

"Makes sense," I said. "I mean, at least there won't be as much infighting, right? But uh… what do the four of them think about my disappearance?"

Katherine snorted. "You know how Elesa is. Hasn't had a reaction one way or the other. And Spencer… well, I don't think he'll care that much about your disappearance, considering you've returned in time for the operation."

"Tony seemed sort of upset when he heard you'd disappeared," Matt informed me. "I overheard him say something like, 'Shame, I really liked that Jackson girl.' But I don't know whether that would affect his decision on the matter of you leading a strike squad. Though, for the record, I think it's a bad idea."

Katherine raised an eyebrow at Matt. "You wanna lay off your sister there?"

"What about Sierra?" I asked quickly, trying to avoid another conversation about how royally pissed off at me Matt was.

"She's pretty upset about your disappearance, to put it mildly," Matt said. "She was, of course, already stressed out. So you can imagine how the disappearance of her oldest friend would affect her. She's been careful not to let it affect her praetor duties, but I have no doubt that she'd be hesitant to give you that sort of responsibility after the stunt you pulled."

"Dude, it's like you're not even happy she's safe," Katherine said harshly.

Before anyone could say anything else, a voice from behind me said loudly, "So it's true." I turned. Three people were standing at the corner of the porch, all of them with different looks on their faces. Theo was gaping, astounded to see me, his eyes sparkling with what looked like tears. Jake looked like a giant weight had been lifted off his chest, though in his eyes I could see a fair amount of guilt and anger in equal measure – probably related to our correspondence before the explosion. And lastly, there was Jocelyn, who'd been the one to speak up. She looked absolutely livid. Her face was bright red. Her eyes blazed with rage. Her fists were clenched. Her chest heaved with heavy breathing. My heart pounded faster at the sight of her – the way she'd done her shoulder-length caramel hair today, the flush brought on by her anger, the tight workout clothes she was wearing… There were no two ways about it; I definitely had a crush on Jocelyn. Not that anything would ever come of my feelings for her, especially now.

I cleared my throat and stood up. "H-hi, Jocelyn," I stammered.

"Hi?" she shouted, her southern accent as thick as molasses like it got when she got emotional. "You're gone for an entire month and you have the _nerve_ to lead off with 'hi'?!"

"Please, let me –"

Jocelyn cut me off by punching me hard in the gut. I clenched my stomach, stunned by the ferocity behind the punch. Sure, Matt had punched me earlier, but that had been on the shoulder, and I could tell he was using some restraint when he did it. That was not the case when Jocelyn punched me. I was so stunned by the first punch that Jocelyn managed to get the second one – a solid hit to my jaw – off before I managed to throw up my arms and block her strikes, which, thanks to my training with the Kouretes, was pretty easy to do. It was a moment before Theo and Jake managed to get their arms around Jocelyn and drag her off of me. "Jocelyn! Cool it!" Theo shouted.

Jocelyn ripped her arms free of Theo and Jake's grasp, shot me a look of malice, and ran off without another word. I felt a sob welling up in my throat. That had gone about as well as I'd feared. Theo, who noticed the look on my face, hugged me tight.

I cried into his chest – not just about Jocelyn's reaction to seeing me again, but also Matt's anger, at the general overwhelming feeling of seeing everyone again, and about Theo's unbelievably kind reaction to my return. "She hates me doesn't she?" I asked into his chest after a minute.

"Maybe a little," Theo admitted softly. "But she won't stay that way forever. Give her time. And hey, _I_ don't hate you. Frankly, I'm just… unbelievably happy to see you back in one piece."

"Thanks," I mumbled. After another moment, I sniffled, pulling myself together, and stepped back from Theo's hug. I turned to Jake. "Do… do I get a hug from you, too? Or are you more in the mood to punch me?"

Jake let out a weak chuckle and hugged me. "Just happy to have you home, Elizabeth."

"Okay, really?" Matt snapped. "You're not gonna be angry at her _at all_? None of you? Not even a little bit? I mean, Elizabeth has been gone for a _month_! And none of you are mad? I mean sure, trying to beat her up was maybe a little overkill, but at least Jocelyn was upset!"

"But she's back," Katherine said. "Safe and sound. Why are you so mad?"

"Why am I so mad?" Matt shouted. "Because she let me down!" He turned to me. "You realize that, don't you? When I needed you most, you weren't there! You'd vanished, up in smoke, just like the rest of our family! Worse, actually, because it was your own damn choice to run off like that! So forgive me if I'm upset at the fact that my big sister, the person who's always supposed to be there for me, wasn't. But I'm not just going to let it go because you came back. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to be getting back to Centurion work."

"Matt –"

But he'd already climbed over the porch railing and stormed off. I bit down hard on my tongue, trying hard not to cry again so soon. Chiron said something that I hardly registered. Something to the effect of, "Give him time." I nodded, still doing my best to hold back tears. "Yeah," I said hoarsely. "Yeah, I know."

Katherine cleared her throat awkwardly. "So uh… do you want to go back to our cabin and get settled back in?"

I shook my head, forcing myself to focus. "No," I managed, sitting back down at the table. "I want to finish going over the plan. So. Strike Teams. That's ultimately Elesa, Spencer, Tony, and Sierra's decision, right?"

"Yeah," said Katherine. "I have a feeling that they'll know pretty soon that you want to lead one of the strike squads, what with your return and everything."

"So, if they do choose me, what are the logistics of that?" I asked.

"Well, you'd have to choose your own team for the squad," Jake said. "Nine other people, besides yourself. And they've got to be Greeks. Leadership is trying to keep units either all Greek or all Roman – easier to manage that way. And it can't be anyone who's filling a different specialist role. Like mech suit drivers can't be on your strike team, since there are so few people who actually know how to run the damn things."

"So I'm guessing that means that you're out?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually in charge of the entire mech corps," Jake confirmed. "I would help you if I could, though."

"You can count me in," Theo said. "I've got your back… as always." He looked down at those last words and I felt another pang of guilt. Even now he was supporting me, and all I'd done was run off without a word. I would have to make it up to him, somehow…

I nodded. "Thanks, Theo."

"Well, I'm in, too," Katherine said. "You and I make a good team. We found that out last summer, remember? It's time that we get the team back together."

"You're not doing anything else super important?" I asked.

Katherine shook her head. "I didn't particularly feel like I was qualified to lead one of the strike teams, and James doesn't want me on his out of some boneheaded desire to 'protect' me." Katherine crossed her arms furiously. A lot had happened in my absence it seemed. How badly were James and Katherine fighting? "Anyway," Katherine went on, "I trust you, and I know that you know what you're doing. There's no one I'd rather have as a squad leader."

"Well, that's two at least," I said. "Hopefully the rest will be just as easy to find. Though I somehow doubt it…"

"That's assuming that you get the strike team leader position," Gwendolyn pointed out.

"Fair enough," I said.

"Elizabeth, there's one other thing you should know," Katherine said. "But uh… you're not gonna like it."

"What is it?" I asked hesitantly.

Theo, Jake, and Katherine all glanced at each other. Chiron and Gwendolyn shared a look, too. "You know how we started suspecting that there was a traitor right before you left?" Theo asked.

I nodded. "Any luck figuring out who it was?"

"Er, no," Jake said. "Not really. But uh… there are some people who subscribe to this theory… it's a stupid one really, but it's gained some traction with some people… some of them are saying… well, they're saying that _you're_ the traitor."

" _What?!_ "

"Knew you wouldn't like it," Katherine muttered.

"Why does anyone think that?" I asked, livid. "That's… that's _insane!_ "

"Anyone who actually knows you knows it's not true," Theo assured me. "But you know that jerk Devon who ran against Sierra for Praetor last year? He's the one who started this whole thing."

"According to him, you were tired of being stuck in your parents' shadow," Jake explained. "And so you arranged with the demititans to have them 'disappear.' Then, once we figured out that there was probably a traitor, you ran off to join the demititans full time before you got discovered.

I clenched my fists hard. My robot hand started making a whirring noise in protest. "And people actually believe him?" I spat.

"Easy there," Gwendolyn said. "You're getting so mad, your hand is making a weird noise."

"I noticed that, too," Jake muttered. "We'll have to go down to Bunker Nine so I can take a look at that…"

I waved my left hand. "Yeah, we should probably do that. But this traitor thing –"

"My dear, there are very few people who actually believe it," Chiron said. "Do not concern yourself with rumors like this. You have other things to worry about right now."

I sighed, the anger draining back out of me. "This is all my fault," I said morosely. "If I hadn't disappeared, then Devon wouldn't have any ground to stand on. His theory would crumble. But no, I had to be an idiot and go running off to save my parents…"

"Do something about it then," Gwendolyn said. "Prove to everyone why you're a true hero. Being sad and mopey about how things might have been if you hadn't disappeared doesn't do you any good."

"Gwendolyn's right," Katherine said. "You've got to move forward. People will see that you're not a traitor. And Jocelyn and Matt and everyone else who's upset at you right now will come around when they realize that having you back is the most important thing."

"Y-yeah," I said. "You're right." And she was. The only way I had any chance to fixing things was to actually do something about it.

"But before all of that," Jake said, "I really would like to check on the condition of your arm."

I nodded, standing up. "Chiron, Gwendolyn, thank you for… for everything."

They both nodded. "We'll see you again before you guys leave tomorrow," Gwendolyn said. "But in the meantime, good luck with getting everyone back on your side. I know you've got this."

Chiron nodded. "You will do great things, I know it."

Theo, Katherine, and Jake were all looking at me expectantly. But Jake was the one looking at me most intently. He wanted to talk. Alone. I knew why. I sighed internally. Jake hadn't wanted to confront me in front of everyone, especially not after Jocelyn, but he was obviously pretty upset about the whole "me calling him and then dropping off the face of the Earth thing." Aloud, I said, "I'm gonna go with Jake to get my arm fixed up. Katherine, put out some feelers, see if you can find anyone who'd be willing to be part of my strike team. Theo… could you… could you see if you can get Jocelyn to come around? At least talk to me?"

"On it," said Katherine.

Theo nodded, giving me a knowing look. "I'll see what I can do, Elizabeth."

Katherine and Theo both gave me another hug, then went off. I turned to Jake. "Lead the way," I said nervously. Jake nodded, then together we turned and made our way off the porch and down the hill.

* * *

 **AN: Alright that's it for chapter 11. Chapter 12 will *hopefully* arrive by New Year's. See you guys then, and Merry Christmas once more to everyone who celebrates it!**


	13. Chapter 12: I Start Mending Bridges

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry about the delay on this next chapter. Definitely took me longer to get it done than I thought it would, but I'm also like 95% certain this is the longest chapter I've ever written, so that probably has something to do with it. Anyhow, I am still on school break for another week or so, so I *should* be able to crank out the next chapter in that time, though, no promises. I want to give you all quality material instead of something I just wrote as quickly as I could without caring about quality. Anyway, let's get on with the review responses.**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "** **Amazing as always! One thing I noticed, Elizabeth said her time with "Gaea" instead of Rhea, but other than that this was perfect! Matt's reaction nearly tore my heart in two!"  
** **A: Oh crap. Sorry about the typo. But I'm glad you liked the chapter! And I'm glad Matt's reaction got that response from you. It means I did my job right :)**

 **From RockRoy: "** **Yes, the perfect Christmas gift :) Gwen does have a point, and so do Joce and Matt. Wondering what is going to happen next. And then there is the whole traitor thing. My guess is on Jake (the emotional impact would be the greatest)."  
A: Glad you enjoyed my Christmas present :) And yeah, I really wanted you guys to kind of feel where everyone else is coming on this one. Elizabeth really messed up, and she knows it. As for the traitor... well, you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **From Unicute17: "** **JOCABETH ANGST! *cries and squeals* don't let her be mad!"  
A: Unfortunately, she'll still be mad for a little while yet... but beyond that I won't say anything.**

 **From 13Missing11My9Angelo16: "YAYAY! I loved this chapter, picturing the transaction going down to the very last detail! You're an amazing author and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas :)** **It'd be funny if she wasnt allowed to have a Strike Team and then startedd her own rebel one"  
A: Thank you so much for the complement! I did have a great Christmas, thank you for asking :) As for the strike team... well, just wait and see.**

 **From cghe: "Will we see the final battle at the conclusion of this book?** **If so, I am satisfied :D."  
A: Well keep in mind that there is going to be a fifth book. But there will definitely be a huge battle in this one.**

 **From Person: "Merry Christmas! And merry Christmas you old building in loan...where is that movie quote from!?** **Anyways, Elizabeth came back! I can understand Jocelyn and Matt's perspective on Elizabeth disappearing, but beating her up is not the way I would do it. I could probably relate to Matt being more angry due to the fact that his parents did just disappear...** **Again great story as always. I am glad that you survived midterms. I BARELY did! I am also glad that you have watched Avatar: the last airbender. It is one of my favorites and it is so underrated!** **Well...Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!"  
A: Thank you for the Christmas wishes :) And yeah, Jocelyn's reaction was meant to be a bit extreme. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. And I absolutely love Avatar, as do basically all of my friends. So you're not alone in enjoying it! And Happy New Year!**

 **From angstyteenagetrash: "YAY! This is great!"  
A: Glad you're enjoying it!**

 **And finally, from EllaAnnieGrace: "Yes, I did reread the book. And you don't just drop a bombshell like Elizabeth being bi and metaphorically running away, Bfalt!"  
A: Sorry about that! But I'm back with another chapter, so you know... there's that!**

 **Anyway, that's all the review responses. As always, I want to thank you guys so much for your support of this series. I really am fortunate to have such a great group of people reading these. I hope you are having a great new year so far, and expect more excitement for Elizabeth and gang moving forward! That's it from me, let's get on with the chapter. DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 12: I Start Mending Bridges

Jake and I walked through camp without a word to each other. As we passed by other people, I saw them drop what they were doing and stare at me, whispering to each other. _Great_ , I thought. _This is what I wanted. People gossiping about me._ Just how far had the rumor that I was the traitor spread in my absence anyway? They'd made it sound like it wasn't that much of a big deal up at the Big House, but now I wasn't so sure…

After what felt like forever, we finally made it to Bunker Nine. The entry room was crazy busy. Some Hephaestus campers were picking up huge crates filled with weapons with forklifts. Two mech suits were walking towards the door, each carrying two crates labelled "New Armor." "New armor?" I asked Jake as we sidestepped around the mech suits. "I didn't know we had new armor."

Jake paused a moment before responding. "It's pretty good stuff," he said finally. "It was a collaborative effort. Myself and Carrie from the Aphrodite cabin. No one's been briefed on it yet though, except for the commanders. We'll go over the details on all of that right before the battle."

We made our way down a familiar side hallway to the workroom Jake usually used. I followed him inside. The room was cluttered with tools and parts, scraps of projects, notebooks, and a few boxes. One wall had a window looking into a dark room – the first place that Jake had tested the mech suits. In front of the window was a desk with Jake's huge computer setup. He pressed a button on the machine to boot it up, then turned to me. "Alright, sit down and take off your jacket and glove. I wanna see the damage."

I obliged, draping my leather jacket over a chair and yanking off my glove. After I sat down, I held out my celestial bronze arm. Jake sat down in his swivel chair and turned to face me. He examined my arm closely, noticing the blackened spots, the electrical tape fused to the metal, the holes; helpfully, a couple of sparks chose that minute to fly out of my arm. Jake leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Holy Hephaestus, Elizabeth, what did you do to your arm?"

"I was in a car crash," I said. It seemed like that was becoming my new standard lie.

Jake snorted. "This happened in a car crash?"

"It was a bad one," I added.

Jake threw up his hands. "Oh, of course. A bad one. Right." Before I could respond, he burst out, "Dammit, Elizabeth, what the hell happened? You put me in a very tricky situation. You called me, you asked for my help, you asked me to lie to my boyfriend – _your best friend_ – and then you just drop off the face of the planet? What was I supposed to do? I mean… I thought you'd died! But I couldn't say anything because – because then it would be my fault that you'd died. I'd've been an accomplice to your death…" He trailed off, looking at the floor.

My heart leaped up my throat, beating hard. "I'm sorry," I said softly, choking on my words slightly. "I… I really am, Jake." I struggled to find my next words. I couldn't keep lying about what really happened, could I? Jake had done so much for me, and I'd just vanished without a word. Of course, I had died, so there was that. But still, he'd thought I was never coming back, and he'd blamed himself. "I'm not a very good friend," I said at last. "I uh… I asked you to lie to your boyfriend, I manipulated you to get you to help me, and then I disappeared without a trace. I know that what I did was reckless and hurtful. And… and I don't have any good justification for it, except that my phone was dead." Which was true. "I can't ask you to forgive me… I just… I just want you to know how sorry I am for everything."

"Don't get me wrong," Jake said after a moment, "I am _beyond_ relieved that you're okay. Truly, I'm happy that you're back. But I just… I'm just upset. I'm upset at you for disappearing on me, and I'm upset at myself for letting my fear and guilt get the better of me. Do you know how many times I tried calling and texting you?"

"I saw a bunch of notifications when I finally got my phone charged this morning," I said in a small voice. "But I don't know the exact number."

"Seventy-three times," Jake said. "But after the first two weeks… I mean, they were prepared to call it and say you were dead, do you realize that? But I _still_ didn't come forward about helping you. I was… I was worried everyone would hate me… Especially Theo…"

"Why didn't they call it?" I asked, curious. "I mean, a month is a long time. Usually we burn a shroud before then, don't we?"

"Gwendolyn had a premonition," Jake explained. "It wasn't much, but she said that she was sure you were coming back. And Dan went to double check the Underworld. Couldn't find you down there." I gulped. If Dan had gone to the Underworld, I wondered if he'd found out the truth about what had happened with me. I'd have to find a way to ask him about that…

Jake was looking down at the floor, morose, his arms on his knees, his hands clasped. I reached out and took hold of his hands with my left one. He looked up at me, his brown eyes wet with tears. "Jake," I said, unsure where I was going to go, but desperate to find the right words to fix things with us. I didn't think I could stand losing another close friend. "Look, I uh… I messed up. Pretty bad. Worse than I've ever messed up. And I'm not _just_ talking about my decision to leave here – though that's a pretty big part of it. I… some bad things happened to me."

"What happened?" Jake asked quietly.

I shook my head, my own eyes starting to water as I thought about my visit to DOA Recording Studios. "I'm sorry, I… I can't. It's just… I wish I could tell you but…" I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"But you can't," Jake finished for me. "Let me guess? There was a god involved?"

 _A Titan, technically_ , I thought. "The point is, I realized what was really important to me. And I realized how awful I'd been to the people who'd always been there for me. I can't offer up any more than that, I really can't. And I know it's not much of an apology, but I just… I just want you to know how sorry I really am, and how much our friendship means to me."

Jake looked into my eyes for what felt like a long time. Then, finally, he leaned forward and hugged me. I let out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I was holding and hugged him back. A single tear rolled down my face and dropped onto his grease-stained camp shirt. After a nice long hug, we finally both sat back. Jake cleared his throat. His eyes were red. "So, uh… your arm. Right. Well, unfortunately, the damage looks pretty bad."

"Right," I said, clearing my throat as well. "My arm. Damage is bad. What can you do for me, doc?"

Jake stroked his chin for a moment, switching back over to engineer mode. "I think it might be time," he muttered.

"Time for what?" I asked. Jake stood up, strolling away from the computer desk where we were both sitting and going over to a large filing cabinet. He opened several drawers, looking for something, muttering to himself all the while. "Time for what?" I repeated, a bit louder.

Finally, Jake emerged from the cabinet, an arm very similar to the one attached to my stump in his hands. "Mark two," he answered. He came back over to the computer desk. Up close, I noticed the differences between my current arm and the new one. My current one was made entirely of celestial bronze. The new one was a different color – more silvery, though it still looked like it had bronze in it. My current arm had dozens of panels with very small cracks in-between them. The new one had only six sections with cracks in-between. "I've been working on this one since last summer when you busted up your arm pretty bad in your Labyrinth quest. I wanted to make a new arm that was tougher, harder to damage, but was no heavier or less flexible. It took me a while, but I think I found the right combination of factors. I wanted to run a couple of tests on it before I finally gave it to you, but…" _I disappeared so you didn't think to test it_ , I thought sadly. "Well, anyway, no better way to test it than to go ahead and let you use it."

"What's the metal?" I asked, curious. "It doesn't look like pure celestial bronze."

Jake shook his head. "It isn't. It's a combination alloy of celestial bronze and titanium, made it a lot tougher, yet no heavier, which is key. Unfortunately, the process of combining the two metals is pretty time consuming and difficult, otherwise I'd recommend switching out all of our armor for this material. And I minimized the number of plates on the exterior so that there would be fewer gaps for swords and other sharp objects to get stuck in, hopefully further minimizing the damage the arm will incur. I had Theo help me with that part. He understands anatomy pretty well, so he was able to give me pointers on where I could consolidate and still not lose any flexibility."

"And it's compatible with the connector already in my… you know… stump?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah. Only thing we have to do is remove the old one, upload the software settings and diagnostic data to my computer, then install all of it onto the new arm. Once that's done, you'll have yourself a brand new, better-than-ever metal arm."

I looked at my damaged bronze arm, sad for a moment. This arm and I had been through a lot together. I was attached to it – emotionally as well as literally. Which was pretty weird considering how much of a freak having it used to make me feel. Still, this one was in bad shape. I was surprised it was still working at all, quite frankly. "Alright, let's do it," I said.

Jake smiled. "Excellent! Take off your arm while I get the new one wired up to the computer."

I reached over to my right arm awkwardly, pressing my thumb against the thumbprint reader on the underside of the connector (Jake really put that thing in a weird spot). With a hiss, the pins connecting the metal arm to my flesh retracted. I grabbed onto the metal arm and gently pulled it loose from the connector, setting it up on the desk next to Jake, who'd just finished wiring the new one into his computer. He turned to my new one and began the wiring process on that one.

"So uh… how long will this take?" I asked.

"The software transfer will probably take until after dinner to finish up," Jake said. "But then you should be all set to use the new one."

I tapped my foot, frowning. Jake was focused entirely on his computer screen at this point, making sure everything was working right. Part of me wanted to stay in here until the process was done to avoid the attention I was getting around camp for just a little longer. But I also knew that I really couldn't avoid it forever. And I definitely needed to make an appearance at dinner if I was going to have any chance of quelling these traitor rumors. "Right, well, I'll let you get to it, then," I said awkwardly. "Are you going to skip dinner or will I see you there?"

"I'll see you there," Jake said, eyes still glued to his computer monitor. "I can let the process run while I'm eating."

"Alright, then," I said. "See you soon." I turned towards the door.

Just before I opened it, Jake said, "And Elizabeth?"

I turned back to him. He'd turned away from his computer monitor. "Welcome home," he said with a smile.

I beamed at him, my heart swelling. "It's good to be back," I managed to say through my sudden upsurge of emotion. Then I turned and left Jake's workroom.

* * *

As I was leaving the bunker, I was struck with a sudden idea. But there was a problem. I didn't know how to find the room where I could act on my idea. I had to find someone around here who could give me directions… preferably someone I knew and who liked me, because I really did not want to deal with anyone who believed the rumors about me. Luckily, I spotted Jake's sister, Cecelia, heading towards the Bunker's main door. I waved at her, calling, "Cecelia!" She looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. I strode over to her.

"I heard you were back," she said. "Good to have you back. Just in time, it seems, too."

"Yeah," I said. "And I'm sorry about disappearing on you guys. I really am. But I have a question for you."

"You want me to be part of your strike team?" Cecelia asked. "I heard about that. If the commanders give it to you, I'd be happy to join you."

"Oh, uh, brilliant," I said, taken aback. "Thanks. If uh... if I get a strike team, I'd be happy to have you on it. But no, that wasn't what I was going to ask. I uh… I don't really know my way around the bunker. But I… I wanted to go see the prisoners. Specifically Marcus."

It was Cecelia's turn to be taken aback. "Oh, uh, okay. Their cells are down that hall," she pointed to a doorway about halfway back through the huge entry room. "You'll take the third turn to the left. All the way at the end, you'll go through a metal door into the prison area we set up. But uh… there will be someone on guard duty. I don't know who, though. But… well, if you haven't heard the rumors…"

"Some people think I'm a traitor," I said with a sigh. "I know."

"And it won't look very good if word gets out you went to go see the prisoners," Cecelia pointed out. "Why do you want to go see Marcus anyway?"

I shifted uncomfortably. The truth was, I wanted to gloat about still being alive, but I couldn't very well tell Cecelia that. And was going to gloat really that important to me? _Yes it is_ , part of me responded. _Things are pretty shitty right now. Wouldn't seeing the look on his face when he realizes his and Eliana's little trap didn't work make you feel better?_ I nodded, almost unconsciously. Then, to Cecelia, I said, "I uh… I've got reason to believe that he might know more about what happened to my folks then he let on."

"But he was questioned by charmspeakers," Cecelia said.

"I know," I said. "But he was probably trained to resist charmspeak. It can be done."

Cecelia frowned, but she finally said, "Well, alright. Good luck. I hope someone good is in charge of guard duty today…"

"You and me both," I muttered. "Well, I'll see you later," I said louder. "And I'll let you know when I find out about the strike squad."

Cecelia nodded, then turned and left the bunker. I, on the other hand, turned to the hallway Cecelia had directed me to.

* * *

When I reached the door to the prison area, I hesitated again. This really was not my smartest decision. I was supposed to be a lot more rational now – Rhea had wanted to make sure of that. But what was the worst that could happen from talking to Marcus? Give the rumor mill a little more to talk about – and that was _if_ someone who believed the rumors was standing guard right now. And besides, I really wanted a win. Coming back was proving to be just as difficult as I feared. Having a moment just for me really felt like it might be the best thing for me.

I pushed open the metal door and entered the cell block. The entry room housed a desk and several computer monitors displaying security footage from the cells down the hall behind the desk. Sitting at the desk was a girl, about fourteen, with dark skin and matching hair done in cornrows. She had a very withdrawn demeanor, I could tell just by the way she was sitting. I recognized her, since I knew she was close with Katherine, but the two of us still hadn't gotten to know each other very well. She was Kymompoleia's daughter. "Uh, hi," I said. "Yolanda, right?"

She nodded slightly, eying me curiously. "And you're Elizabeth," she said quietly. Her soft voice belied the insane power she held inside her. Last summer, right after she'd arrived, she couldn't control her powers at all. That and she'd just gone through some pretty severe emotional trauma that I didn't know the root of. It was a bad combination – she'd caused some pretty serious damage to camp a couple of times. "I didn't realize you were back."

"Just got here today," I said. "Sorry about disappearing on all of you like that."

Yolanda tilted her head to the side, confused. "Why are you apologizing to me? We don't really know each other. And as for your reasons for disappearing… well I understand them better than you know."

I frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," she said. "It was a long time ago. My point is that you don't need to apologize to me, if that's why you're here."

"Oh, uh, no," I said. "Though I am sorry for running off. But no, I just… I wanted to question Marcus about something."

"Oh, right," Yolanda said. "I suppose that makes sense. But uh… you do know…"

"That there are rumors that I'm the traitor?" I finished. "Yeah, I know. And I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us because of that."

"Alright," Yolanda said. "Well… follow me, I suppose." She led me behind the desk and down the hallway. We passed by several cells, which were formerly just work rooms but had now been outfitted with bar doors like an actual prison. A couple of demititans looked up at me and sneered as I passed. Camp Half-Blood's "prison uniform" consisted of plain white t-shirts and grey sweatpants.

Finally, at the end of the hall, we reached a door different from the others. For starters, it was still the original door, which meant that I couldn't see the inside from out here. For another, this one's lock was a swipe card reader. Yolanda drew her sword, then pulled a card out of her pocket and ran it through the reader. The door beeped and swung inward. Yolanda entered first. "Back against the wall Marcus," she said as forcefully as her small voice allowed. "I'm coming in with a visitor."

We entered the cell. The room had been stripped of all of its work equipment. Now it was a simple white room with a bed and a hastily installed toilet and sink. Marcus had done as Yolanda asked and was standing facing the wall. He too wore a plain white shirt and grey sweatpants, which was weird. I was used to seeing him in suits – or robes that one time in Mexico City.

"And who is my visitor this time?" Marcus asked, bored, when he heard us enter the room. "Another charmspeaker to try and get more out of me? Chiron perhaps? He hasn't yet deigned to visit me, so that would be quite the honor. But alas, those sound like two pairs of normal feet. So not the centaur then."

"No," I said. "Not the centaur."

Marcus whirled around at the sound of my voice. Yolanda raised her sword quickly. "Easy there," she warned.

Marcus's face betrayed his shock at seeing me alive. In his time in our captivity, his facial hair had grown out quite a bit so that now he had a scruffy beard. His brown hair, usually meticulously maintained in the weird wedge that he kept it had grown out long. His black eyes asked one question: _how?_

"I can protect myself," I said, patting the sword strapped to my waist. Yolanda's eyes drifted to my stump. That would have annoyed me typically, but just then I didn't care. And I knew her concern came from a good place. "Don't worry, I'm good lefty."

"I wasn't –"

"It's fine," I said quickly. "Just… give me a minute. Please."

Yolanda hesitated, then nodded. "When you want to leave, look up at that camera over there and give me a thumbs up," she said, pointing to the security camera in the top corner of the room. There's uh… no audio, so you'll have your privacy."

"Thank you," I said. Yolanda turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. I turned to Marcus. "Surprised to see me alive?"

Marcus sneered. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Oh drop the act," I said. "I noticed how surprised you were to see me. And surely you'd heard I ran away. I found out about yours and Eliana's little trap. I'll admit, you guys almost got me. But here I am, alive and well."

Marcus scowled. "I knew Eliana couldn't handle it. She could never do anything right. After her failure to kill you on the Labyrinth mission… Well, I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose."

I laughed harshly. "Oh yeah, cause you've been famously successful at killing me."

"I am curious though," Marcus said. "What happened? How did Eliana screw up this time?"

"How badly do you want to know?" I asked.

"Enough to ask 'pretty please,'" Marcus said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "How about this? I'll answer your questions, and you'll answer mine."

Marcus snorted, walked back over to his bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling. "Please, Elizabeth. I'm slightly curious about how you survived, but not enough to tell you anything new."

"So you _do_ know more than you let on before?" I noted. "Thanks for that."

I noticed Marcus frown on his bed. He turned and sat up, irritated. "Why did you come down here, anyway? To gloat? Well you've done that. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get back to staring at the ceiling in peace."

I smirked. "Well, well, you _can_ get riled up after all. Yes, I'll admit that I did sort of want to gloat. But the main reason is what you just revealed – the information you know. My search for my parents ended up being the wild goose chase that you and Eliana planned. But they're still somewhere, and I'd be willing to bet that you know where, despite all of your protests to the contrary."

Marcus stood up, sneering. "And what will you do if I do know? Run off _again_?"

I frowned. "No, of course not," I said in a small voice. Then, stronger, "At least not until after we take down Drake."

"Let me guess?" Marcus said mockingly. "You're going to kill him for what he did to Thalia?"

"You're damn right I will," I said. "And if he's the one holding my family, it'll be all the more reason to do it."

Marcus laughed. " _Please_. We've already discussed this Elizabeth – you don't have the guts to kill someone. The only time you did was an accident, and you didn't handle it very well according to the security footage I saw."

"I've changed."

"No you haven't," Marcus sneered. "You're nothing but a whiny, hormonal teenager who thinks far too much of herself. You think that you're intimidating? Don't make me laugh. You may wear all black and pretend like you're this dark, brooding manifestation of darkness, but at the end of the day you've never had the guts to do what it takes and you never will."

At that, I actually lost my temper for the first time since coming back from Rhea's training. I ripped my sword out of its sheath and levelled it at Marcus, pressing the tip right up to his throat. "Don't you dare talk down to me," I growled.

"Or what?" Marcus asked. "You'll kill me? We've already established that you won't do it."

"I'm pretty tempted right now," I growled.

"Go on, then," Marcus said. "Do it. Prove me wrong. Kill me. But when you can't do it – when you lower your sword, growling at yourself – I'll know for certain that you have nothing to hold over me and you'll never get anything out of me. And you're right. I _do_ know things. _I know where your family is_. Never start with your final sanction, Elizabeth. You've nowhere to go but down."

We stood there in silence for a moment. Part of me wanted to do it so badly. It wouldn't take much. Just a small jab with my sword and Marcus would be dead. But… I couldn't. He knew things. And maybe I couldn't get them out of him. But I at least knew he knew more than he was letting on. That information could be important. And, as much as it sucked to admit that Marcus was right about me, I really wasn't a killer. Even after Rhea's training, I just couldn't bring myself to kill him.

I yanked my sword away from Marcus's throat, sheathing it angrily. Marcus smirked at me. "Just as I thought."

At that moment, there was a knock on the cell door, and Yolanda came in. She looked worried – no doubt she'd seen me pull my sword on Marcus on the cameras. I wondered vaguely why she hadn't come sooner, but I pushed the thought back for a moment. Yolanda cleared her throat. "Uh, it's dinner time, Elizabeth. The conch just went off."

With one last dark look at Marcus, I left the cell.

* * *

Almost everyone was already seated by the time I made it up to the dining pavilion. It was more packed than I'd ever seen it before, probably because of the fact that the entirety of Camp Jupiter was here, too. Still, I noticed a few people missing. For starters, the commanders – Sierra, Tony, Elesa, and Spencer – were absent, no doubt wrapping up a pre-dinner meeting. The other people I noticed were missing were Jocelyn and Matt. Clearly neither of them wanted anything to do with me at the moment.

With a deep breath, I began to make my way across the dining pavilion towards the Poseidon table. As I walked in, a hush fell over the assembled demigods and legacies, and this time there was no witty remark from Jocelyn to distract everyone's attention away from me. I gulped, wondering if I should say something. Then, just as I reached the weird crack in the floor that had been there for as long as anyone could remember, a guy stood up and blocked my path. Unfortunately, I knew him. It was the slimeball who'd started the rumor about me being a traitor. The worst centurion in the twelfth legion – Devon. He looked, more or less, like a box. And not a good sturdy box, either, but a wet, crumbling box. I was in no mood to deal with Devon.

"Excuse me," I said quietly. "If I could just get to my table."

"So it's true," Devon snarled. "The traitor has returned."

"I'm not a traitor," I snapped back quickly.

"Oh, come off it," Devon said. "It's far too convenient that you just 'happened' to be out of the way when the Seven were kidnapped. It's no coincidence that you ran away right after we started looking for the traitor."

"Hey Devon," called a new voice. I looked over. Amy had stood up at the Poseidon table (because apparently she was just eating there now). As usual, her dark hair was done in a braid. Her eyes glinted angrily. Hopefully at Devon. "Why don't you shut up and go back to playing with your dolls?"

Devon's face flushed. "Those were _figurines_ and they were for planning for combat. And we're the same rank Amy, so you really can't boss me around." He turned back to me. "Frankly, I think there's enough evidence to lock you up, just like that demititan you 'captured,' Marcus."

"Tell me this, then, if you're so smart," I snapped back. "Why did I come back? If I really do work with the demititans, why would I come back after running off?"

"To discover more information," Devon said. "Gaius no doubt figured that we wouldn't suspect you and we'd be happy when you returned. But we're smarter than that. We know better. I will _not_ let you jeopardize our campaign."

"And what exactly do you plan to do about it?" I asked. "Fight me? I'm ready to go if you are."

Devon laughed. "Are you threatening me, _traitor_? You've got _one arm_."

"I could beat you without any arms," I snarled.

We stared each other down. Slowly, we reached for our swords.

"Break it up!" Devon turned. Behind him, Sierra strode into the dining pavilion in her full praetor armor. Her purple cloak rippled angrily. Her golden armor shone. At her belt hung her gladius and pugio. Her brown hair was pulled back, her sky blue eyes blazed angrily. She looked downright scary. I instantly let go of my hilt.

Devon, however, was apparently a slow learner. "Sierra," Devon said, "tell Miss Jackson that she has no place here anymore."

Thunder rippled across the valley. Devon flinched slightly. "That's enough Devon," Sierra said. "You've gone on for weeks with the ludicrous claim that Elizabeth is a traitor. It. Isn't. True." Her next words were for everyone in the dining pavilion, who were still watching the spectacle unfold in silence. "Elizabeth Jackson is one of us! You would all do well to remember that!" I felt my heart swell at those words. Again, one of my friends was sticking up for me when all I'd done was betray and leave them. I really didn't deserve it.

"You can't honestly be standing up for her!" Devon snapped. "You've let your old friendship with her blind you!"

This time the thunder that boomed was a distinct crack. Lightning flashed across the otherwise clear sky. "I am your commanding officer!" Sierra shouted. "You are out of line! Now I suggest you sit back down and get back to your meal before I have you kicked out of the legion for insubordination!" Devon gulped and slowly shrunk back to his table. Sierra turned to everyone else. "Well? What are you all staring at? Get back to your food!" Everyone hurriedly turned back to their meals and conversations from before. Judging by their reactions, angry Sierra was not something they were used to seeing and it scared the shit out of them. Hell, it scared the shit out of _me_ , and she was defending me.

Still, I let out a sigh. It was over. I could finally go eat in peace. Or… so I thought. Sierra met me right as I got to my table. "Thanks for the backup there," I said quietly. "I really appreciate –"

"Come with me," she said shortly.

"Uh, what?"

"Come with me," Sierra repeated. "The command council would like to speak to you."

I glanced at Katherine, who shrugged, then I turned back to Sierra. "Uh, right. Well… lead the way then."

As we walked out of the dining pavilion, I tried talking to Sierra. "Hey, look, I really do appreciate what you did for me back there," I said. "I know I don't deserve you looking out for me like that after running off and all. And I'm so so sorry about that. I really am. I cannot –"

"Oh, shut up," Sierra said exasperatedly.

I frowned. Against my will, tears welled up in my eyes yet again. "S-Sierra, I know I hurt you and I just… I just want to make things right again. I really am sorry about everything I've put you –"

Sierra stopped, turning to face me. She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Elizabeth. Stop apologizing. I don't want you to apologize."

"Why – why not?"

Sierra sighed. "Because then I'd feel guilty about still being mad at you," she admitted. "Or, more guilty than I already do that is."

A tear rolled down my face. I looked down, trying to hide it from Sierra. "Oh, I… I see."

Then, unexpectedly, Sierra gave me a tight hug. I wrapped my arm around her just as tightly. It was a full minute before she pulled back. "I don't hate you, Elizabeth," she said softly. "You're still one of my best friends. But I just… I just need some time to be angry, okay? Can you understand that?"

I sniffled, but still managed to smirk slightly. "You do realize who you're talking to, right? I'm kinda an expert at being angry."

At that Sierra let out a short bark of laughter. "Fair enough, I suppose. Now come on, we've got to meet with the rest of the command council about your request for a strike team."

She continued striding up the hill towards the Big House – which I guess is where they'd been talking. "So uh… what are the chances of that happening?" I asked tentatively.

Sierra threw me a sideways glance. "Don't push it. Remember, I'm still mad at you."

"Right, sorry."

After a moment, though, Sierra sighed and said, "At this point there's only one of us that's against the idea, but it has to be unanimous. They agreed though that you could come in and plead your case."

"It's Elesa, isn't it?" I guessed. "I should've figured she wouldn't be down with me leading a strike team." Sierra didn't respond.

* * *

The command council was meeting in the rec room of the Big House, which used to be where all war council meetings were held back in my parents' day. The ping pong table in the center of the room was strewn with papers, but I think I noticed a mark in the table, like a knife had been impaled there at some point. Opposite the door where Sierra had brought me in stood the other three commanders. Elesa's cheeks looked more gaunt than usual, no doubt a result of the long hours of work she'd been putting in. She'd gotten a haircut in the time I'd been gone, too – her blonde hair was now so short, it could've passed for a guy's haircut. It wasn't a look many girls could pull off, in my opinion, but it looked good on her. I had never been sure where I stood with her, but after my absence I was pretty certain she wouldn't be a fan of me. And it seemed like that was the case, given the fact that she was against me leading a strike team.

Spencer, on the other hand, looked exactly the same as when I'd left – tall, imposing, and muscular. As always, he had about nine weapons strapped to his body. He and I had always gotten along halfway decently. Similarly, Tony Perez, Sierra's co-Praetor, and I had always gotten along. He stood on the other side of Spencer. He was frowning, no doubt in thought. His dark hair, usually buzzed, had grown out some. His muscular arms were crossed.

Also in the room were Chiron and Gwendolyn, who stood to the sides of the ping pong table. I knew that they were usually involved in an advisory role, but ultimately the council made decisions without them. That was probably especially true now that the commanders had taken up more power.

Sierra strode around to the side of the table with the other three, taking her place next to Tony. I remained on the empty side of the table. Once Sierra had joined the other three, Elesa cleared her throat. "Right," she said. "Let's get on with this then. First of all, on behalf of the command council, welcome back Elizabeth."

"Uh, thanks," I said.

"Now, as I understand it, you want to lead one of the early strike squads when we attack Boldt Castle," Elesa said. "Is that correct?"

"Yeah, it is," I said. "I'm a good leader and I have a lot of experience. I think that makes me an excellent candidate for the position." _That and Rhea said I would play a huge role in this battle_ , I thought. But I couldn't very well tell them that. I was _sure_ that I was supposed to lead one of these strike teams. It was the only thing that made sense with what Rhea said about my upcoming role.

"Well," Elesa continued, "in order for that to happen, the war council must all agree on the matter. And as it stands, there is yet one of us that feels that you would not be the best choice for the position."

"It's you, right?" I guessed, starting to get impatient with the proceedings. Nevertheless, I said, "I totally get it, Elesa. I let you all down when I left, and I'm –"

"Actually, I voted in favor of letting you lead a strike squad," Elesa said, one of her eyebrows arched. "Despite your disappearance, you have an excellent track record when it comes to leading quests and missions. And that's not to mention the fact that you have the most experience with the demititans out of anyone at either camp."

I was thrown off by that. "Then who…?"

"It was me." It took me a second to realize that the voice had come from Tony Perez. I gaped at him. "I voted against you leading a strike team," Tony repeated.

"But… why?" I asked. "I thought –"

"That I'd be one of the ones supporting your case?" Tony suggested. "Yes, maybe before. But now… you ran off, Elizabeth."

"I'm… I'm sorry," I said, my voice catching in my throat. I was still reeling. "I really, truly am. But… that doesn't have any bearing on my ability as a leader."

"Doesn't it?" Tony asked. "Elizabeth, don't get me wrong. I am relieved that you are back. But I don't make decisions regarding our war effort with my emotions. I make them based on what I think is the best thing for us. And I'm not convinced that that's you. When it comes down to it, it is now clear to me that you cannot set personal tragedy aside when you make decisions. I saw it when you lost your arm two years ago. I thought perhaps you'd moved past it – that you'd matured. Apparently not."

That stung. Subconsciously, I grabbed onto my stump with my left arm. "My family had just disappeared!" I protested. "I couldn't just sit back and do _nothing_! I _had_ to go looking for them. Do I realize now that that wasn't the right choice? Yes. And I came back because of that. Isn't that what's important?"

"You never should have left in the first place," Tony rebutted. "In the heat of battle, you won't have a chance for a do-over if you make the wrong decision. You'll die, and you'll get your squad killed, too. I want someone I trust to make the right decision the first time to lead a strike squad."

I felt like I was drowning under his barrage. He was absolutely right, of course, and that's what made it hurt all the worse. Even so, I knew I had to lead a strike squad. Besides, I was always more careful with other people's lives than my own. I would rather die than let someone I cared about die. Wasn't that the sort of quality Tony was looking for in a leader? "Look," I said as calmly as I could muster, "I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did. But I know that I'm supposed to lead one of these teams. And I know I will make the right decisions in battle."

Tony had tensed up at those words. Sierra was looking sideways at him, concerned. Spencer and Elesa shared a glance like, _Uh-oh_. " _I_ don't understand?" Tony said in a tight voice. "Do not assume what I do and do not understand, Elizabeth. I understand all too well what it's like to have something happen to your family." The room had grown deadly silent, the air so thick that even my celestial bronze sword would have trouble cutting through it. "It was about a month after I'd become a Centurion," he went on, almost as if in a trance. "I had an important quest coming up. The night before I was due to leave, I had a dream. In it, I saw my mother in danger. When I woke up, I almost ran away. Tried to hurry home to save her on the mere hunch that something was wrong. But I didn't. I called the police, then I went on my quest and did my duty."

"What… what happened to your mom?" I asked quietly, afraid that I already knew the answer.

"She was dead before the police arrived," Tony choked out in a rare display of emotion. Almost instantly, though, he'd managed to compose himself again. "But I wouldn't have been able to make a difference even if I chose saving her over doing my duty. She would've been long dead by the time I made it to the house."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," I said sincerely. "I didn't know about your mom."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "The point is, I chose to do my duty that day, as hard as that decision was. And there's another point, too. I could've gone on what would ultimately have been a pointless quest to try and save my mom. But I made the right decision and stayed at camp to carry out my duty, both to the Legion and to my friends. You chose to do the opposite. You made the wrong choice. It might've been different if there was something you could actually do for your family – if the choice had truly been between saving your family or 'doing nothing,' as you put it. But those weren't the real options you could choose from. No, the _real_ options were actually doing your duty to your camp or doing nothing. Because unless you're hiding your family in your jacket pocket, it's pretty clear that your little escapade didn't get you anywhere."

I almost lost it right then and there. I saw red. I felt my face heat up. I clenched my left fist hard. Even one handed, I could probably take Tony now, I reasoned. What with my training with the Kouretes and all… But I didn't lunge over the table to try and deck Tony. Because my training with Rhea and the Kouretes had taught me something else, too – think things through. Tony was _trying_ to get me riled up. He was trying to make me lash out. He was goading me into attacking him. But why? _So I can prove him wrong_ , I realized. Despite his harsh words just now, I couldn't believe that he had started thinking so little of me in my time away. We had always gotten along, after all. No, he was goading me on because he wanted me to prove him wrong about me. He _wanted_ me to be right – that I was suited to lead one of the strike teams. But he had to know the truth for himself before he signed off on it. He was giving me a chance to prove myself.

When I realized that, my anger drained out of me just as quickly as it had flared up. "You're right," I said. "I made a bad decision. Trying to chase down my family was an emotional decision, not a logical one. I learned the hard way, while I was out there, that I had made the wrong choice. But I came back. And now I want to prove my commitment both to camp and to the war effort."

"And if you lead with your emotions in battle?" Tony asked. "What happens to your squad?"

"I won't let anything happen to my squad," I said. "I swear it. I would die in their place if it came down to it. I won't let them down. And I won't let you down. I've done a lot to help out this war effort over the past few years. I know I messed up pretty badly this time, but I also know that I'm meant to do this. Let me prove to you that I can do my duty."

Tony locked eyes with me, clearly trying to gage my sincerity. Apparently, I passed. He nodded to me. "Alright, Elizabeth. You'll have command of a strike team."

"That's settled, then," Elesa said. "Elizabeth, you will now have command of a strike team, so long as you can find nine other willing participants. They must be from Camp Half-Blood and must not have a different command duty to perform. Other than those stipulations, the choice is yours. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I said seriously.

"Very well," Elesa said. You have until tomorrow night, at midnight, to deliver to either Spencer or myself the list of people on your strike team. Is that clear?"

"Yes," I said.

"Very well," Elesa said. "You may go, Elizabeth. I would suggest you eat something. And remember, we leave on the ship tomorrow, first thing in the morning, so make sure you pack whatever you'll need tonight."

I nodded to her, smiled hesitantly at Sierra, then turned and left.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, I'll see you guys soonish with the next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 13: I Build a Strike Team

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry that it's been so long once again. I actually had this mostly written a while ago, but then I got caught up in a couple of personal emergencies and am finally getting back on track with everything. So here I am. And gee, this is quite the chapter. In my word document it was over 30 pages! Anyway, as always, I want to thank all of you for your support over the course of this book. But since we have such a long chapter to get into, how about we move on to the review responses?**

 **From RockRoy: "** **Dammit, no battle :( And no Jocelyn :( All in all a good chapter, but more Jocabeth is always welcome :)"  
A: All in good time! (And hopefully that's gonna mean a little faster than has been typical for me lately).**

 **From an unnamed guest: "Is there a possibility of Elizabeth's arm being hacked?** **Also, will this book have extra chapters, like some of the previous ones?"  
A: I haven't actually thought about the possibility of hacking Elizabeth's arm... I don't think it would be possible without wiring right into it, since the arm doesn't connect to any outside network or anything like that. As for extra chapters, this book may run 21 or 22 chapters rather than the typical 20. But we'll see.**

 **From 13Missing11My9Angelo16: "OHMYGODS That was freaking EPIC! I loved every second of it! You're an outstanding author and I can't wait to read chapter 13!"  
A: I'm glad you liked that last chapter so much! I hope you enjoy this one just as much!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "Thanks, Tony! You made Elizabeth see sense. And Jake thanks for making her a new arm!"  
A: Yeah, she really needed Tony there to help her see sense. And as for Jake, yeah he's pretty good at stuff like that.**

 **From J. Cage: "okay. why in the name of all that's holy am I getting the notification to chapter 11 a month after it's release. Fanfiction I am suing you."  
A: OH NO! I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you get the notification for this one.**

 **From Person: "Good for you Elizabeth! Start healing those wounds...it will help in the long run!** **Great story as well. I just can't wait till we find out what happened to the Seven! It's driving me nuts!** **You want to know something very funny...I take a west civ class and now we are learning about Rome. Percy Jackson and your short on Jason Grace (he was the Pontifex Maximus I think). All of those terms are coming up, like SPQR and so forth. Thanks!"  
A: Yeah, Elizabeth is going to need all the help she can get. As for the Seven... well you'll just have to wait. As for the West Civ class, that's pretty cool. I'm glad that you could learn a little from me, and from Percy Jackson.**

 **From Soricon: "Please come back to write we miss you so much I know your bust but just tell us an update on yourself"  
A: Well I'm back! Unfortunately I am still busy, but I will do my best to be better about updating.**

 **Alright that's all from me. Sorry again about the long disappearance. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 13: I Build a Strike Team

I hardly slept that night. No, instead I just lay awake, staring at the ceiling. I knew that I needed to sleep. After all, we were leaving for Boldt Castle first thing in the morning, and even though we'd be at sea for roughly two days before we got there, I was already on edge about it. And I couldn't even imagine what everyone else was feeling, having been building up to this battle for the entire time I was away. But that was half the reason I couldn't sleep. Rhea had told me that I had an important part to play in this battle. Initially, I hadn't totally bought it, but now that I was leading a strike team, I figured she was right. But what if I wasn't up to the task? What if I failed? And of course the worst possibility was that I wouldn't be able to build my strike team at all, since so many people were pissed off at me.

Also there was the new robot arm, which was taking some getting used to. I wasn't sure why – it operated exactly like my old one and Jake had even imported all of my preferences over. But then, I vaguely remembered it taking a while to get used to the first arm, too. Even after I'd had it for some time, I barely considered it as actually a part of my body. It probably had to do with something in my brain – some part of me that just took some time to associate between the arm and the rest of me.

The other thing that kept me awake was just what I was worried about for building my strike team – people being pissed off at me. Matt… Matt was more bitter with me than I'd seen him in a long time. His mood used to change so quickly. Growing up I'd seen him switch from doubtful to laughing at a dumb joke on a dime. One of the only times I'd really seen him hold onto negative feelings for any significant amount of time was after Sierra had rejected him. I mean, sure, ultimately that had been pretty petty of him, but that didn't change the fact that it had taken him a year to get over it. I didn't think I could stand it if he stayed mad at me for that long. Hell, I didn't even know if I _had_ that long – what with this life thing being a temporary pass from the Underworld. And if I died before Matt forgave me… Well, the thought made me miserable to say the least.

Of course, even worse was Jocelyn. After her initial attempt to beat the shit out of me, I hadn't seen her at all. Frankly, I couldn't blame her for being so upset. I'd been a really shitty friend. But the level of rage coming from her was what astounded me the most. I mean, Matt at least spoke to me and explained exactly why he was so upset. Jocelyn had spoken only a handful of words to me before punching me and then disappearing. I desperately wanted… no, _needed_ to fix things with her, but I didn't know how to do that if she refused to see me, much less talk to me. I knew she'd be upset at me, but I'd hoped for at least some kind of sign that she was relieved to see me alive. But the reaction I'd gotten from her made it seem like she would've preferred that I stay gone. That thought made my heart break. I cared about Jocelyn a lot – far more than was advisable considering the circumstances. The thought of having to go forward without her in my life at all… I didn't know if I could handle it.

So, needless to say, I was pretty groggy when Katherine and I arrived in the Dining Pavilion the next morning. Most people were barely eating, nervous about what was coming up. I noticed Jocelyn at the Hermes table moving her bacon around with a fork. I tried to catch her eye, but it seemed like she was specifically avoiding looking at me.

Over at the Poseidon table, Amy was still eating with us. Matt, who had been heading over to the Poseidon table, turned towards the Athena table when I sat down there. I groaned and slammed my head on the table. "This sucks," I mumbled. I looked up at Amy. "Hey, look, thanks for standing up for me yesterday. I really appreciate it, especially considering how much of a jerk I was disappearing on you like that."

Amy shrugged. "It's fine," she said, and her tone of voice actually made me believe she meant it. "I was pretty upset at first but… I don't know. I guess I thought about what I would do in your shoes, and I figured I probably would've done the same thing. I'm just happy you're back."

"See, Elizabeth?" Katherine said. "Plenty of people are happy that you're back safely!"

"And plenty of people aren't," I responded morosely. Nevertheless, I turned to Amy, "Thank you. I really appreciate it. My return has been… difficult, to say the least."

Amy frowned. "I know. Matt hasn't been handling it very well." She glanced over at the Athena table, where Matt was deep in discussion with Elesa. "Ever since you first disappeared he's pretty much cut himself off from other people," she continued in a quieter voice. "He's all about work now – won't even entertain any feelings that aren't directly related to him being centurion or being mad at you."

I put my head in my hands, groaning again. "Gods, this is all my fault."

"It is not," Katherine said sharply. "Look, I get that your brother is mad, but it's not your fault that he's poorly adjusted emotionally. It's not your fault he doesn't know a healthy way to handle his feelings. You can't beat yourself up over that. You've got to keep moving forward."

"I agree," said Amy. She glanced over at Matt again, sighing. "I wish… I wish I could do something for him, but I can't. And it's not because I'm a failure as a friend, and it's not your fault either. Matt is just no good at processing his feelings. The only person who can change that is him."

I looked up at Amy. "How are you?" I asked. "You know… with how Matt is right now. I mean… this must be difficult."

Amy nodded, looking down at her mostly uneaten food. "Yeah, uh… it is. I really… I really care about him… in a way that I don't think he's able to see or even reciprocate right now… It hurts, you know?"

"I know all too well," I muttered.

Just then, we had a visitor at our table. "Elizabeth, hi." I glanced up. It was Emily Zhang. I hadn't seen her in ages. Her frizzy, cinnamon colored hair was messier than usual this morning, no doubt related to the dark bags under her eyes – it seems I wasn't the only one who hadn't been sleeping. I'd forgotten how petite she was since I'd last seen her, too.

"Emily!" I said, initially excited to see her again, but then almost instantly filled with remorse for no doubt hurting her with my disappearance as well. "Hey, listen, I just want to say-"

Emily held up her hands. "I don't need you to apologize. What's done is done. We have to move on." A very pragmatic response, I noticed. That made sense. Emily was one of the most reserved people I knew. I was worried that her answer masked emotions that she didn't feel comfortable sharing, and I was even more worried that one of those emotions was resentment towards me. That being said, she did go out of her way to come over and talk to me, so that was a good sign at least. "Anyway," Emily went on, "I wanted to come over for two reasons. The first was to express how grateful I am that you're back safely. The second… well, I want to ask you a favor."

I tilted my head, curious. "What's the favor?"

"Well, I heard that you were going to be leading one of the strike teams," she said. "So I just… I wanted to ask you to make Hannah part of your team."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "You _want_ your little sister to be part of one of the strike team? You do realize that they're the most dangerous positions in the battle, right? Why would you want her to be on one at all?"

"The battle is going to be incredibly dangerous for everyone involved, no matter what," Emily said. "I'd rather Hannah not go at all. Unfortunately, she _is_ thirteen, which means that she's fighting. So if she must go, I want her near someone I trust. I want her near you. I know that you'll do everything in your power to protect her."

I was touched that after everything Emily still trusted me so much. I stood up and hugged her. "Of course I will," I said. I felt Emily let out a sigh of relief at those words. After we stood apart again I added quickly, "Just… you know, I'm gonna do everything I can, but if…"

"I know," Emily said. "Thank you, though. I feel a lot… a lot better now."

Emily turned and made her way back over to the Hades table. I glanced over at the Ares one where Hannah was sitting. Oddly enough, I hadn't interacted with her at all since getting back. She was probably pretty upset at me. Part of me regretted making that promise to Emily just now. What if I couldn't convince Hannah to join my team? What if she was just as upset at me as Matt and Jocelyn? What then?

Suddenly, Sierra, Tony, Elesa, and Spencer stood up and made their way to the front of the pavilion. "Heroes!" shouted Tony. "Your attention please!" The already subdued murmurs stopped altogether. "It is time to board the cruise ships," Tony went on.

"Romans will board the ship to the right," Sierra added. "And Greeks to the left. When you board the ship, you will find a few of your fellow campers waiting right inside the ship with tablet computers. They have volunteered to check people in. Make sure that you wait in line to talk to them and check in. We want to make sure that we have everyone."

"Those of you who aren't going – whether that's because you're under thirteen or you've just arrived at camp and haven't had enough time to train, you've got an important job as well," Spencer added. "It is up to you to defend camp while the rest of us are away. This is very important, so take it seriously."

"Lastly," Elesa said, "just a reminder for all strike team leaders – if you have not yet delivered your list of participants to us, you must do so by tonight at midnight. We need to know so that we can put the finishing touches on our battle plan. Is that clear?" I nodded, and I noticed a few other people throughout the Dining Pavilion either nod or say, "Yes," no doubt my fellow strike team leaders. One of them, I noticed was Alex de Marco from the Zeus cabin. "Alright, that is all," Elesa continued. "Head straight down to the ships. Dismissed!"

Everyone stood up at once, bustling about. "See you in a couple days, Elizabeth," Amy said, heading off to join some other Romans.

"So speaking of strike teams," Katherine said as we pushed our way through the crowd, "who do you have so far? Me and Theo, right?"

"Yeah," I said, speaking up to make myself heard over the crowd. "Cecelia also said she'd join. So we just need six more people. I'll have to talk to Hannah, obviously, before we can definitely count her, but if she joins, we're down to five more. Any thoughts?"

"You could ask Helen," Katherine said thoughtfully. "Don't the two of you have rapport? And what about Dan?"

I nodded. I'd been thinking about both of them as well. The son of Hades was powerful and an extremely skilled combatant. He'd make an excellent addition to the team. As for Helen, though I'd known her for years, I'd never actually seen her fight. That being said, the daughter of Hecate almost definitely had tricks up her sleeve. "Yeah, the two of them would be great to get on the team if they'll agree to join. Which brings us right down to three more people."

Katherine scratched the back of her head. "Alright, so when we get on the ship, why don't you check in with those people that we've already mentioned, and I'll see if I can scope out more potential team members."

"Sounds good," I replied. "Thanks Katherine. I uh… I really appreciate how supportive you've been since I got back. It really does mean a lot to me."

Katherine cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, you probably already know this, but… well even though I'm technically your aunt, I think of you… well, I think of you like a sister."

I teared up. If we weren't in the middle of a crowd pushing us towards the shore, I probably would have tackled her with a hug. As it was, I could only manage to choke out, "I uh… thank you. I feel the same way."

* * *

Down at the docks the crowd was even more hectic, if that was even possible. I saw Greek and Roman friends stop to hug each other in the middle of the crowd, I saw a couple of campers hurriedly loading a couple of last minute crates onto the ships. Over the noise of the crowd I heard Jake yell, "You can't bring live land mines on the ship!"

With a jolt, I realized that Jocelyn was only a few people ahead of me. Our eyes met for the first time since I'd first gotten back. Her face twisted, and she turned away quickly. My heart tried to climb out through my throat. My stomach twisted painfully, and I wasn't even using any of my powers. Suddenly a hand waved in front of my face. "Did you hear what I just said?" It was Katherine.

"Uh, no, sorry," I said. "Zoned out. What's up?"

She pointed behind her. Standing at the front of the dock was Chiron in full centaur form. "He wants to talk to you real quick," she said. "Before we go and all. I'll see you on the ship, okay?"

"Right," I said. "Thanks Katherine."

I turned around and pushed my way back through the crowd. Some people threw me sideways looks. Clearly, there were still quite a few people who didn't trust me yet. After a minute, I finally made it back over to Chiron. "Hey Chiron," I said. "What's up?"

"I wanted a chance to wish you luck," he said. "And to assure you that everything is going to be okay." I looked down. Very rarely over the last few years had I felt at all _okay_. It was hard to believe that that day would ever come. Chiron must have read my thoughts because he kneeled down in front of me so that we were the same height and put his hands on my shoulders. "Stay strong, Elizabeth. All storms pass eventually."

"Gods, I hope so," I muttered. "Listen, Chiron, I know you said that I don't need to apologize to you, but… I really am sorry for disappearing on you like that."

"I know you are Elizabeth," he said. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I bit my tongue to keep from crying yet again – I didn't want it to become a habit. Still, it was hard. I'd know Chiron my whole life. He was like a grandfather to me… And as crazy as my life had been the last few years, one constant was Chiron's never ending support.

I sniffled as we broke apart, and I noticed that Chiron's eyes were noticeably red too. I cleared my throat. "I should uh… probably get on board."

Chiron nodded, standing back up. "Goodbye, my dear. I look forward to your return."

"Bye Chiron," I said, stepping back. "We'll be back soon."

* * *

After boarding the ship and checking in, I went to the room Katherine and I shared to set down my things. Katherine was waiting for me. "So, good news," she said. "I ran into Cecelia, and she's still down to join your strike team."

I nodded. "Good to hear. Found anyone new for the squad yet?"

"Theo said he'd check with Jasper," Katherine reported. "And I'm going to talk to Donny about it."

I shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Donny. He was one of Jocelyn's siblings, after all. Surely she'd have them all pissed off at me. Katherine read the look on my face. "I know that Jocelyn is pissed at you, but I'm not sure that she'll have turned everyone in the Hermes cabin against you. You're still her best friend."

I frowned. "I don't know about that… But okay, you check with Donny. I'll go see Dan, Helen, and Hannah, see if they'll join. I'll meet up with you and Theo for lunch, deal?"

Katherine nodded. "Sounds good."

Just then, the ship's intercom came on and Elesa's voice echoed throughout the entire vessel. "We are currently pulling away from the dock. We will be out at sea until late tonight. Around 11:30 we will be pulling into the St. Lawrence Seaway. Tomorrow afternoon we will arrive at the rendezvous point set up by camp veterans. Until then, enjoy the amenities on the ship." As her voice cut off the ship lurched forward. I looked out our window as we pulled away from Camp Half-Blood. I had a sinking feeling that I wouldn't be seeing camp again for a long time. I pushed the thought back and turned around. It was time to get to work.

* * *

I'd never been on a cruise ship before. The closest I'd ever gotten was going on board one of Dad's scientific vessels that he used for Marine Biology stuff. But Mom and Dad had never taken us on a proper cruise because they hated cruise ships. Apparently they'd had some "bad experiences" on one before. So exploring the ship was pretty cool. The entire center of the ship was filled with shops and restaurants and bars. There was an entry foyer. _An entry foyer_. _On a ship_. One deck was basically a giant food court. The uppermost decks were open air. There was a mini-golf course towards the back of one of them. But most of those places had been converted into storage for our weapons, gear, and whatnot. The outdoor swimming pools had been drained to store the mech suits. And besides that, I had things to do anyway.

The first person I went to go see was Dan, who was more than happy to join my strike team. "I'm definitely down to kick some more monster tail with you."

"Thanks," I said. "You know, you can count this as that favor you think you owe me." Dan was under the impression that he "owed me one" from when I cleared his father's name on my first quest. I'd appreciated the sincerity of the gesture, but I also didn't think the favor was entirely necessary. I'd been trying to get him to drop the favor for years. The last time I'd tried was for the mission on the highway at the start of the summer. He'd said it didn't count then. And he gave me basically the same answer now.

"Oh please," he said. "We're all going into battle now. This is just a different job in the battle. Save your favor for another time."

Helen, too, proved willing to join my squad. I caught up with her in what used to be one of the ship's bars, which had been entirely converted into a magic supply room. There was a cauldron, a whole bunch of magic books, and other magicky things. Helen was busy drawing some runes onto a sword when I came in. Each rune glowed a different color when she finished drawing them.

"Uh, hey Helen," I said.

She remained focused on drawing her runes, which looked like hard work. "Hello, Elizabeth. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to join my strike team?" I asked.

"Certainly," she said in her odd singsong voice.

"Uh, well thanks," I said. "I'll leave you to your work."

Just before I made it to the door, Helen spoke up again. "I've noticed an odd aura about you, Elizabeth."

A shiver ran up my spine. Did… did she know about my death? "R – really?" I asked. "What – what do you think that's about?"

I turned back to face her. Helen had looked up from her work. Her glowing yellow eyes seemed to pierce my soul. "Only powerful magic would have affected your aura like this."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well… it probably happened while I was away. I ran into some demititans a couple of times. Maybe it happened one of those times? Some of those demititans knew magic I'm pretty sure."

Helen's eyes indicated that she didn't even believe me a little bit. But before she could push it further, her sword started smoking. " _Di immortals!_ " she cursed, turning quickly back to the sword. I slipped out of the room.

* * *

At lunch I sat with Theo and Katherine. "We're getting close," I said as we sat with our food. "Helen and Dan are totally on board. Still haven't checked in with Hannah yet, but if she's on board, that's another one."

"Donny's on board, too," Katherine informed me.

"As is Jasper," Theo said.

I nodded. "So if Hannah's on board, we'll just need one more person, right? Any ideas?"

"What about Trisha?" Theo asked. We all looked across the food court area where the blue haired daughter of Nike was eating with her older brother. James looked over and smiled hesitantly at Katherine. Katherine rolled her eyes and turned back to the table.

"James is still in the dog house, then?" I noted.

"That's one way to put it," Katherine muttered. "Anyway, Trisha is on _his_ strike team, so she's out for ours." I sighed. I really didn't know who else to ask to join the team. There had to be _someone_ , right? Katherine noticed my frustration. "Hey, I'm all done eating. So why don't I go ahead and continue looking for the last person, yeah? We'll find someone, don't you worry."

"Thanks, Katherine," I said. "I really appreciate everything you've been doing for me these last couple days."

She smiled at me. "Of course. I've got your back, you know that." She patted my shoulder, grabbed her tray, and left the table.

Theo and I sat quietly across from each other for a minute. I picked at my food. I knew I should eat something, but I was so stressed and upset and nervous and… just everything. I couldn't work up much of an appetite. And one of the things I was most worried about, was something that Theo was the only one who knew the full extent of things. Theo seemed to pick up on my thoughts, because he said, "You're wondering how Jocelyn is?"

I frowned. Jocelyn and I had always used to joke that Theo was dense, but recently he'd proven himself incredibly perceptive. He was really growing up. Either that or Jake's smarts were rubbing off on him. "Yeah," I admitted. "I… I'm really worried that… that she'll never forgive me."

"I know you are," Theo said. He sighed. "I wish I could give you good news, but… she's really upset, Elizabeth. I talked to her earlier today. She was trying to act all detached but… she's still really pissed at you."

My stomach twisted in a knot. "So you don't think she'll forgive me?"

"I didn't say that," Theo said firmly. "But she… she's really going to need a lot of time on this."

"We might not have a lot of time," I said. "We're going into this huge battle and we might not both survive. I don't think I could stand it if one of us died without… without fixing things." My breath was shaky now. I felt myself tearing up.

Theo reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "Hey," he said softly. "It's okay. It'll be alright. We're going to make it through this battle and you are going to have a chance to fix things with her. Look… I'll do whatever I can to help, too. I'll go talk to her, see if I can get her to come around. I hate having my two best friends fighting like this. I just want to go back to the three of us hanging out on the beach… or watching Jocelyn play Kingdom Hearts in Fort Stoll. Do you remember when we used to do that?"

I smiled sadly. "Those were the days. Unfortunately, even _if_ we somehow fix mine and Jocelyn's friendship, I don't know that things will ever be that simple again."

* * *

After clearing off my plate, I went searching for Hannah Zhang. I was pretty nervous about talking to her, to be honest. She'd seemed to be avoiding me since I got back. To be fair, I only got back the previous day, but even so, she'd not met my eye, she'd been very careful to skirt clear around me in the food court, and just generally didn't seem to want anything to do with me. Everyone had reacted to my return differently, it was true, but by and large, with some exceptions, most people were just happy to have me back safe and sound. Hannah seemed to be one of those exceptions. It looked like I'd have some work to do getting her back on my side.

It took me a while to track her down, but when I did I found her in what used to be the mini-golf course. Now it was a sparring arena. Hannah was busy slicing a practice dummy to pieces with a pair of long hunting knives. She was quite good with them, moving fluidly all over the place, each slice perfectly timed. There was no doubt that Hannah was good. That wasn't my concern. My concern was that she'd want to turn those knives on me.

I cleared my throat awkwardly to announce my presence. Hannah whirled towards me, panting, her face flushed. "Oh, hi Elizabeth," she said flatly.

"Uh, hey Hannah," I said. "Look, can we talk? I feel like you're mad at me."

"Not mad," Hannah lied. "But I'm pretty busy. In fact, I think that I'd better –"

"Hannah, please, stop," I interrupted. "You have been avoiding me since I came back. I know that I probably really upset you disappearing like that. And I'm really sorry about that. I truly am."

"That's not what I'm upset about," Hannah replied shortly. "I figured you'd do something like that. What I'm upset about is that you came back without our families. You promised me you'd bring them back. And… and they're not back."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, Hannah. I did everything I could but… I ran out of leads to follow. I didn't know what else to do. But we will get our families back, safe and sound. I promise you that."

"Just like you promised you'd bring them back?" Hannah asked scathingly.

This really stung. I got why people were angry at me for running off, but this was different. Hannah had expected me to be perfect. To somehow magically fix everything. I guess it made sense; she had looked up to me. And now she was realizing that I wasn't perfect. That I made mistakes just like everyone else. That's a hard realization to come to, but it was also hard to be on the other side of it. "Look, Hannah," I said. "I know you looked up to me. And I'm sorry that I didn't live up to the image of me you had in your head. I'm only human, just like everyone else. I don't have all the answers, and I don't know how we're going to save our families. But I know that we _will_ save them."

"How do you know?" Hannah asked in a small voice.

I couldn't exactly tell her that Rhea had told me that, firstly because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Rhea and secondly because that wasn't exactly what Rhea had said. She'd actually said that I would find answers about them. But I had to believe that that meant I'd save them. Because if I didn't believe that… Well, frankly, the despair would probably crush me. To Hannah I said, "Because they're strong. Because I refuse to give up. Because nothing will stop us from reuniting with our families. But Hannah, I need you to understand that… well you can't expect me to just magically solve everything, okay? Give me a chance, please."

Hannah hesitated a moment, then, finally, nodded. We hugged briefly. After we broke apart, she said, "I'm sorry for being such a child about this whole thing. It wasn't fair of me to put so many expectations on you."

"It's okay," I said. "And listen, Hannah, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. You may have heard that I'm leading one of the strike teams. I'm getting close to filling out the team, but I need a couple more people. Would you be willing to join my team?"

Hannah looked surprised at that. "But – but wouldn't you want one of your other friends to do it instead?"

"Well to be honest, there are a lot of people that still don't want anything to do with me," I said, rubbing my neck and thinking about Jocelyn. "And at any rate, you're basically family. I trust very few others as much as I trust you. Would you do it?" I didn't mention that Emily had asked me to keep an eye on her, as that would probably embarrass Hannah. Also it might've made her doubt herself and her worth. I didn't need Hannah to be facing self-doubts while we were also facing monsters and demititans.

Hannah's eyes sparkled. I knew before she opened her mouth that she would say yes. She wanted to prove herself badly. She'd picked up quite a bit from her Mars side. And as much as that kinda bothered me, her no doubt excellent combat skills would definitely come in handy. "I would be happy to help," she said.

* * *

"So there's only one slot left to fill," I said to Theo at dinner. Neither of us were entirely sure where Katherine was, though James was nowhere to be seen either, which made me wonder if the two of them were arguing or if they'd just made up and found a quiet place to make out.

"So who are we thinking, then?" Theo said. "There are still a ton of people that we haven't asked."

"But not a ton of people I really know well enough for this," I said. "What about your other siblings? Are any of them free?"

Theo stroked his chin. "Maybe, but… well I'd feel bad leaving the rest of the army without archers. And quite a few of them are serving as battlefield medics. I don't want to screw over everyone else, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," I said, sighing. Theo hesitated, like he had an idea, but he knew I wouldn't like it. "What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well," Theo said slowly, "I'm still working on getting Jocelyn to come around, but even if she does before the battle, she's driving one of the mech suits, so she wouldn't be able to join the strike team anyway. But… well, there's someone else who you used to be close with who might be able to help out."

I felt my stomach lurch. "You _can't_ mean who I think you mean."

Theo rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I know he's your ex and all, but you can't deny that Augustus is powerful. You know he'd have your back. If you can convince him to hear you out, then he might be a really good addition to the team."

"Don't get me wrong," I said, "I want to fix things with Gus, but… well I don't know if I want him on my team, you know?"

"Well you might not have much of a choice," Theo said lowly. He checked his phone. "It's seven thirty now. You have to get your list of names to Elesa by midnight, right?"

I sighed. "Yeah… Alright, I'll think about it. But I don't want to go the Augustus route unless I absolutely have to. I want to fix things, but I want to do them in my own time. I don't want to rush into this, you feel me?"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you like to take your time on things? Also, since when do you say 'you feel me?'"

* * *

Unfortunately for me, by the time eleven o' clock rolled around I still hadn't come up with anyone else to join the team. So, with a great deal of trepidation, I went to talk to Augustus Grace. I went to the cabin he and Jake were sharing, took a deep breath, and knocked.

Jake answered the door. "Uh, hey Elizabeth. What's up? How's the new arm?"

I flexed my right hand again. The stiffness that I'd felt last night and that morning had disappeared, so now my hand felt just like my old one. "It's fine," I said. "Just like the last one. But actually, I was wondering if I could speak to Augustus. Is he in?"

Jake frowned slightly, probably thinking about just how awkward that conversation would be. Regardless, he turned and called into the cabin, "Hey dude, you've got a visitor here."

I heard shuffling inside the room, then Augustus appeared next to Jake in the doorway. When he realized it was me, his face got stony. "What do you want, Elizabeth?"

"I'd uh… like to talk," I said. "Can we… could we go on a walk around the ship or something?"

Augustus sighed. "Sure. Fine. Whatever."

He stepped out of his doorway, shutting it behind him. We walked down the hall in silence for a couple of minutes. I had absolutely no idea where to start. And Augustus certainly didn't seem like he was going to start off the conversation either. Finally, as we entered a staircase I tried to start things off. "So uh… how've you been?"

Augustus snorted. "That's how you're going to start off this conversation?"

I almost retorted angrily, _Yeah, cause you'd be so much better at starting this conversation_. Instead, I said, "Look, I'm trying my best here."

Augustus pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was really trying not to explode on me. "I've been fine," he said after a moment. "Stressed out, you know. But fine."

We pushed open the doors at the top of the staircase and ended up on the bow deck. There were only a couple other people out here with us. A little ways away, Alex de Marco was talking on the phone with someone over at the starboard side (that's the right side of the ship for those of you without knowledge of nautical terms). Beyond him, across a bit of water, was our sister ship, filled with Romans. Up at the very front of the bow, Yolanda was standing alone, quietly staring out over the ocean. Off the port (left) side I could see the shore. The lights of several seaside villages shone in the night. I noticed the St. Lawrence Seaway ahead emptying out into the ocean. The river was marked on either side by lighthouses shining in the night. Almost as if on cue, our ship turned ever so slightly, taking us towards the river.

Augustus and I made our way over to the port side railing and stopped, staring out over the water. After a few more moments of silence, Augustus said impatiently, "Look, you said you wanted to talk. So talk. What's going on?"

I felt my eye twitch ever so slightly. _Calm down_ , I told myself. _Put yourself in his shoes. Wouldn't you be annoyed, too?_ "There's a lot going on now," I said. "And uh… we're sailing into a huge battle. The biggest battle any of us have ever been in. We… might not all make it out of there. I… I don't want either of us to die without first setting things right. I mean, I know that we've always argued, but the last year things between us have been… well, really _toxic_."

"You want to make things right?" Augustus asked incredulously. " _Now_? After everything?"

"Please, just hear me out," I said quickly. "Look, our breakup was a mess of epic proportions. I think we both know that. And I'm sorry for how it went down. Because… because I really wanted to be able to explain to you that you still meant a lot to me. And you still do now."

"I don't still have a broken heart over our breakup," Augustus scoffed. "It's been a year."

"I know," I said. "But that doesn't mean you're not still angry about it. And don't even try to deny that. You're mad at me. You've _been_ mad at me."

"Yes, I'm mad at you!" Augustus snapped. "But it's not for the reasons you think. I realized a few weeks after we broke up that you and I are just not that compatible. Not in the long run. It never would have worked out between us. In that respect, I'm happy you broke up with me so that I could move on. But what made me mad… what's _kept_ me mad is that you always attribute every one of my actions to me being love sick. Every time I so much as tried to say hi to you, you yelled at me for trying to get us back together. You once snapped at me to 'stop flirting' because I freaking _waved_ at you!"

I looked down at the ship railing. The way he put it, it made me sound like a self-obsessed bitch. Had I really misjudged Augustus's actions so badly? Unfortunately, I probably had. It almost didn't surprise me to find out that that was Augustus's side of the whole thing.

Augustus wasn't finished with his tirade. "And let's not forget your stubborn insistence to do everything by yourself! I mean, Pluto's Pauldrons, Elizabeth! You know you can't do everything on your own, right?! And of course, you disappeared for a month – after knocking me unconscious, no less. And then you come back with another break in your nose and a completely messed up robot arm and won't even tell anyone the truth about what happened to you! _Di immortales_ , Elizabeth! When are you going to learn that doing everything lone wolf isn't strong or brave or… or whatever you think it is? It's idiotic and dangerous and selfish!"

"I know," I said quietly. "You're absolutely right about me. I'm selfish, I'm full of myself, I'm rash, and worst of all… I'm a really shitty friend. Believe me, I wish I could go back in time and prevent myself from being like that. From making some of the bad decisions I've made. But I can't do that. I wish I could guarantee that I'll never act like that again. Unfortunately, I can't do that either, no matter how much I wish I could. What I _can_ do now is apologize. And that's what I'm trying to do here. I have been nothing short of a bitch to you. That wasn't right of me. But please know Augustus that I still care about you. I would be devastated if something bad happened to you." Saying all of that had taken a lot out of me. I looked up from the railing and stared at Augustus, pleading with him to accept my apology. It was harder than I imagined being so open and vulnerable with him. I didn't want it to have been for nothing.

As he looked back at me, I could see the conflict in his sky blue eyes. Part of him really wanted to forgive me, I could tell. But another part of him wasn't so sure. He was still really upset at me, and I really couldn't blame him. I wasn't sure what else I could say to prove to him how serious I was about all this; about fixing things between us.

I took a deep breath. This had already been incredibly difficult, but what I was going to do next… it would be the hardest part yet. But it might also be just the thing to repair my friendship with Augustus. I had to show him that I was serious about this – and what better way than by telling him one of my deepest secrets. "Alright, look," I said, "I'm going to tell you a secret. But you have to swear not to tell anyone, okay?"

Augustus looked taken aback. "Elizabeth, you don't have to –"

"Okay?" I repeated more forcefully.

Finally, Augustus relented. "Okay. I swear not to tell anyone what you're about to say. But are you sure about this? You want to tell _me_ this? Whatever _this_ is?"

"I'm sure," I said. I really wasn't sure. But it was too late to turn back now. "My secret is… well, it's…" I steeled myself for it, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. Alex was still on the phone at starboard. Yolanda was still at the very front, staring at the ocean. I turned back to Augustus and said quietly, "I… I have a crush on Jocelyn."

Augustus's jaw dropped. He blinked at me twice, looking me over with newfound curiosity. After a moment, he said, "Okay, I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't _that_. So… so you're a lesbian? Did that play into our breakup?"

"I'm bi, actually," I said. "So no, that's not the reason for our breakup. Of course, I didn't really realize that I was bi until recently… but look, don't tell anyone, okay? Theo is the only other person who knows, and I'd like to keep it that way for now."

"There aren't many people here at camp who would judge you for being bi," Augustus said quickly. "At least, not anyone who matters."

"That's not what I'm worried about," I said. "I'm more worried about Jocelyn finding out I _like_ her. She's pissed off enough at me as is. I don't need to add any more complications to the situation at the moment."

"Maybe telling her would make things better with you two," Augustus suggested.

"Or it could make things worse," I said. "And I don't want to run that risk." _That and I've already decided that dating is off the table since Hades will probably want me back after this prophecy_. "Look, I didn't tell you to get your advice. I told you to show you how serious I am about making things right between us. So… are we good?"

Augustus tilted his head sideways, considering for a moment. Then finally, mercifully, he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah we're good."

The relief hit me like a freight train. I slammed into Augustus with a hug. Tears welled up, but I forced them down. I had been doing way too much crying recently. Augustus took a moment to get over the shock of me hugging him like that, but after a bit, he hugged me back. We stayed hugging for a long time.

"Sorry about the hug," I mumbled when we separated. "Probably should have asked first."

Augustus cleared his throat. "No, it's… it's fine." We both turned back to the ocean, staring out into the distance in silence. We were getting pretty close to the entrance of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which meant it was getting pretty close to midnight. I didn't have much more time to put my team together, but I also didn't want to jump right into business… not so quickly after finally making up with Augustus. I really just wanted to catch up with him for a bit. My friend and I hadn't properly spoken in a year. So instead, I said, "So if I remember correctly you've got a new girlfriend. You said something about that before I left, right? Who is she?" Augustus hesitated. "Ah, come on," I teased. "I told you who I'm interested in. It seems only fair to return the favor."

Augustus chuckled weakly. "I'm not sure it works like that, but okay. She's uh… she's not really my girlfriend. We only went on a couple of dates before I had to leave for camp. But we've continued talking all summer and I… I really like her."

"What's her name?"

"Cleo," Augustus said fondly. "Cleo Rashid-Kane. One of my friends from school introduced us. She lives out in Brooklyn."

"You gonna go on more dates with Cleo after the summer?" I asked.

"Hopefully," Augustus replied.

We both lapsed back into silence. Just when I decided to finally ask him about joining my strike team, Augustus made his own attempt at small talk. "Did you hear that they're making a new Justice League TV show?"

"Really?" I asked, suddenly excited. "When does it come out?"

"First season premieres next year," Augustus said. "I'm pretty excited about the Superman casting choice. Much better than the last guy."

I waved my hand, unimpressed. "Superman is always lame. Who did they get to play Batman? He's the one I care about."

Before Augustus could respond and thus jokingly resume the debate we'd been having for years, gale force winds suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. We both staggered, gripping the railing tightly for support. The clear night sky filled with clouds from nowhere. Thunder clapped. Rain pounded us. "Where'd this come from?!" I asked.

Augustus and I turned. In the middle of the deck, Alex de Marco stood with his arms raised, his blonde hair whipping around from the wind. "Alex, what are you doing?" Augustus shouted.

Alex didn't respond except to raise his arms up even higher. Lightning flashed out of the sky and hit the deck, charring the wood and shaking the whole ship. Alarms began to blare. "We have to stop him!" I shouted over the noise.

"Right," Augustus said. He ran forward. "Alex, get a hold of yourself!"

Alex replied by thrusting one of his hands straight towards Augustus. The wind shifted, slamming into Augustus and sending him flying. He tumbled over the railing next to me and disappeared into the darkness below me. "Augustus!" I shouted, but it was too late to do anything. I just hoped that he'd been able to catch himself with the winds and was floating down there, unharmed, but I couldn't know for sure.

I whirled back towards Alex. I didn't have my sword on me, but I didn't need it. The hand-to-hand combat training the Kouretes had given me wasn't for nothing, after all. Still, it wouldn't do me any good if I couldn't get close to him. I looked sideways and saw a fold up chair nearby. I rolled over to it, scooped it up, and threw it as hard as I could towards Alex. He dodged sideways. It was the opening I needed. I charged the son of Zeus. But before I'd even made it halfway, he flung out his hand and sent me flying backwards. My back hit the metal railing of the deck painfully and I tumbled over the edge.

I only fell for a second before slamming into something that felt like a person. "I gotcha," Augustus said, holding me in his arms.

"Thanks for the save, Gus," I said, barely registering that I'd just used his old nickname. "Can you get us back up there?"

"Alex is a lot more powerful than me," Gus said. "He's making the winds blow so hard that keeping us afloat is all I can do right now."

I could feel what he meant by that. The wind was whipping around us like crazy. Augustus bobbed up and down in the wind current, spinning ever so slightly as he did so. But then, all of a sudden, I felt the wind slow down around us. It was still harsh, but a lot less so. "Can you get us up there now?" I asked.

Augustus obliged. We flew up slowly, still battered by the wind. Finally, we touched back down on deck. Alex was still whipping up his storm, but now someone else was putting their own energy into counteracting the storm. Up at the bow, Yolanda, who'd no doubt been crouching behind some of the deck furniture until she could work herself up, was standing on her feet, her own arms extended towards Alex. It made sense that she could do that. Her mother was the goddess of storms at sea, and technically we were still at sea. At least, for now. She was shaking with the effort, though. I wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. We needed to incapacitate Alex, and quickly.

"Help Yolanda counteract the storm," I told Augustus. "I'll knock out Alex."

He nodded, throwing his own will into the storm. The wind slowed even more. I ran towards Alex. He thrust out his hand towards me, but this time the gust of wind he sent my way only managed to spin me slightly. I closed the distance between us.

Unlike me, Alex had his sword on him. As I got close, he ripped the sword out of its sheath and swung it at me. I hit the deck, sliding between Alex's legs. I leaped up. Alex had already whirled around in a move that would have beheaded me if not for my training. I caught his wrist halfway through the swing and twisted hard. Alex howled in pain, dropping his sword. I let go of his wrist, then slammed my palm hard into his chest. Alex stumbled backwards. "Pull yourself together!" I shouted. "What has gotten into you, Alex?"

He looked at me, his face blank. His eyes were glazed over. He threw a punch mindlessly at me. I blocked it easily, then swept his feet out from under him. He hit the deck hard. "Stay down!" I snapped.

He didn't listen. No, he started to rise back up. So I did the logical thing. I punched him in the face. His head snapped back, slamming into the deck. He was out cold. What remained of the storm let up altogether.

Augustus and Yolanda strolled over, both winded but okay. "What in Zeus's name was that all about?" Gus asked, perplexed. "Did Alex just snap or something?"

"He's probably the traitor," Yolanda pointed out. "Isn't that obvious?"

I frowned, thinking. The way his face had looked so blank, the way his eyes were glazed over… "I don't think it's as simple as that. Yolanda, grab his phone for me then go find Elesa and Spencer. Gus, help me carry Alex to the brig."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Alex was inside the cage in the brig. Gus and I leaned against the wall across from the bars, waiting. Suddenly the heavy metal door into the room slammed open and Spencer and Elesa stormed into the room, Yolanda close on their tails. "What happened?" Elesa asked brusquely.

Augustus and I explained briefly what happened. I kept looking over to Yolanda to see if she wanted to contribute, but she seemed content to stay silent and listen to us tell the story. Just as we finished up our story, Alex awoke with a moan. "What… what's going on? Where am I?"

"You just caused a storm that almost sent us back to sea," Spencer growled. "Until Elizabeth, Augustus, and Yolanda stopped you. That's what going on."

"Wait, what?" Alex asked perplexed.

"Oh stop it," Gus snarled. "You almost killed us! You're the traitor, admit it!"

"Augustus," Alex said, his voice sounding genuinely hurt, "I swear to you that I'm not."

"Then explain what happened up on deck," Spencer pressed. "We're all ears!"

Just then, Vanessa, Alex's full sister, burst into the room. Her blonde hair was messy. Her normally tan skin was pale. Her blue eyes blazed with a mixture of hurt, concern, and anger. "What's going on? Why is my brother in a cell?!"

"News travels fast," Spencer muttered under his breath.

"He attacked us," Augustus said. "I'm sorry Vanessa, but your brother is the traitor."

"My brother is not the traitor!" Vanessa shouted.

"Look, I don't know what happened up on deck," Alex said. "I don't know why you think I'm a traitor, but I swear to you I'm not. You've got to believe me!"

"We have you on camera, de Marco," Spencer said, his thick arms crossed angrily. "We have three eyewitnesses that you almost killed. Do you really expect us to believe you?"

"It's the truth!" Alex insisted. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"This is outrageous!" Vanessa shouted. "What do you have against my brother?"

"That he attacked us!" Gus shouted. "What, do you really think we're lying?"

"Do you think Alex is lying?" Vanessa snapped back.

Before the argument could continue, I finally spoke up, "I don't. I believe Alex is telling the truth."

Augustus looked at me, alarmed. "Elizabeth, you were _there_."

"I know," I agreed. "And Alex definitely attacked us. But I also believe what he says about not knowing what we're talking about. Yolanda, do you still have his phone? I want to check something." Yolanda produced the phone and passed it over to me. I turned the screen on and was blocked with a passcode. I walked over to the bars and held it out to Alex. "Unlock it," I instructed. He hesitated a moment, but Alex unlocked the phone. I turned the screen back around and tapped open the recent calls page. I found what I was looking for. I passed around the phone. "Take a look, everyone. Alex got a call from a blocked number just before he went crazy."

No one seemed to get where I was going with this, except Elesa who glanced up at me. "I see," she said. "Well done, Elizabeth."

"Well, I don't see," Augustus said.

"Nor do I," Spencer admitted.

I turned back to Alex. "Do you remember getting this phone call?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I mean, I remember my phone going off, but I'm pretty sure I ignored it. Or I thought I did."

"You didn't," I said. "Because when Augustus and I came up on deck, you were on the phone."

"What are you getting at?" Vanessa asked impatiently.

"What I'm trying to say is that Alex has been brainwashed," I elaborated. "The demititans will call, say some sort of code word or something, and then tell him to do something, whether that something be feed them information or, say, attack the ship."

"That's ludacrious," Vanessa spat. "When would the demititans have brainwashed him?"

"When they captured me two years ago," Alex said miserably, the realization dawning on him. He looked devastated. "I should have known I'd never escape what happened to me…"

Spencer stroked his chin. "That… does sort of make sense."

"Indeed," Elesa agreed. She nodded at me, impressed.

"So what now?" Alex asked morosely. "Clearly, I'm a security risk. I don't even know what I might have revealed to the demititans about our plans."

"We might not have another chance like this," Spencer said. "We can't just leave Drake to his own devices, to continue building up the demititans' monster forces. We have to push forward."

"I agree," Elesa said. "But obviously, at least for the time being, Alex will have to be stripped of his head counselor status and removed from combat. Which is problematic – he was a strike team leader." She looked at Vanessa. "Would you be willing to fill both of those roles?"

"What?" she asked. "No! This is ridiculous! You can't treat him like this! He's the victim here!"

"Vanessa, be logical," Alex said. "I'm not fit for duty. Not for the time being, anyway. _Someone_ needs to take over for me until we can guarantee that I'm not a threat anymore."

"I won't do it," Vanessa said stubbornly. "I won't take your place. That's just… wrong." I wanted to smack her. How could Vanessa be so shortsighted about this? I mean, I got that she was upset about what had happened to her brother, but to just completely refuse to take up his role like this was just illogical.

"I'll do it," Augustus said suddenly. Everyone looked at him in surprise. But I couldn't help but be proud of him for stepping up like this. I remembered two years ago talking to him about his insecurities – how he didn't trust his own skills as a leader. Now he was offering to step up and take over from one of Camp Half-Blood's most senior counselors. "Look," Augustus went on, "after Vanessa I'm the next older. Plus I've logged a ton of mission hours. Not to mention that I led the quest to retrieve Alex in the first place. I can do this."

Spencer and Elesa looked at each other, then back at Gus. "Very well," Elesa said. "You are hereby promoted to head counselor of the Zeus cabin and the new leader of Alex's former strike team, effective immediately."

Vanessa looked aghast. She pushed past everyone and stormed out of the room. Alex sighed. "Sorry about her. She's always been sensitive about sibling… things." I thought about Matt and realized that I actually sort of understood where she was coming from, even though I still thought she was being a total idiot.

Alex looked up at Gus and smiled weakly. "Good luck, counselor Augustus Grace."

"Alex, I'm really sorry about this," Augustus said. "And about yelling at you just now."

Alex shrugged. "This thing isn't your fault. And listen, I know you'll be a great leader. I really do mean that."

Augustus smiled. "Thank you," he said earnestly.

Spencer cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm sure you'll be great, Augustus. But there are still a few matters we have to figure out. For starters, how do we un-brainwash Alex?"

Elesa stroked her chin. "I'm not sure. But perhaps charmspeak could help with that. I'll speak to Carrie in the morning, see what she thinks. In the meantime, I'll make sure to send down a mattress and other necessities."

Alex nodded. "Thanks Elesa."

She turned back to Augustus. "If you're going to be leading Alex's strike team, we're going to have to fill you in on who he was planning to bring. Speaking of which," she turned to me. "The deadline has arrived Elizabeth. Who's on your team?"

"Uh, give me one second," I said. _Shit,_ I thought. _I never figured out my last person!_ But then the answer popped into my head. "Yolanda, would you join my strike team?"

Yolanda looked taken aback. She tugged self-consciously on her hair. "But we don't really know each other. Why would you pick me?"

"Because you proved yourself up on deck just now," I said. "I'd feel a lot better with you at my side. What do you say?"

Yolanda's mouth twitched, almost like she was going to smile. "I'm… I'm honored. I will proudly join your strike team."

I turned back to Elesa. "My strike team is now assembled. In addition to myself, I will be bringing Theo, Katherine, Cecelia, Jasper, Dan, Helen, Hannah, Donny, and Yolanda."

Elesa nodded to me. "Very good, Elizabeth. Come up to the bridge tomorrow at one for the strike team briefing. Dismissed." With that, she and Spencer left the room, corralling Augustus with them so that they could catch him up to speed on what Alex knew. Gus waved at me as he left. Yolanda nodded at me and left herself.

I turned back to Alex. "You okay?"

He looked up at me, his face full of dismay and fear. "I'm worried, Jackson. What did I tell them? What do the demititans know now?"

I sighed. "I suspect we'll find out soon enough," I commented. "Well, try to get some sleep." I turned to leave the room, but Alex spoke up one last time before I did.

"I'm sorry," he said. "About your parents. If… if you're right, which you probably are, and I got brainwashed by the demititans… then I'm the reason your family got kidnapped."

I looked back at him. "I know. I got that far." I sighed. "But… you didn't do it on purpose. Just… focus on getting better. On breaking out of the brainwashing. I'll see you later." And with that, I left the cell.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, I'll be back with chapter 14 hopefully soon.**


	15. Chapter 14: I Make and Impassioned Plea

**AN: Hey everyone! So I'm finally back with the next chapter. I am really sorry about the long wait, but the chapter is quite long, so hopefully that somewhat makes up for the wait. I do want to thank everyone for your support throughout this whole series, but especially over the course of this book. This has been the only one that I've been unable to keep a regular update schedule for, but you all have been very good about staying patient and I really can't thank you enough for that.**

 **Speaking of which, before I get into review responses, I would like to give you all an update about what's been going on with me. Several of you asked in reviews about what was going on and about the delay between chapters. And I really am sorry about the long wait. Since my big author's note a few months ago, I've been very careful not to give you a specific update schedule because I know I won't be able to stick to it. Between my classes and work, I just do not have as much time as I used to to work on this story. But the main reason I'm writing you this update is that I go on summer break about halfway through May, so I should be able to update more frequently starting then. I'll be sure to update you guys as that time comes closer. In the meantime, continue to be as awesome as you all have been so far. Your interactions with this story have really driven me to keep writing and made me proud of what I've been writing. So thank you so much.**

 **Anyway, finally time for review responses. First, from Unicute17: "** **Please let Jocabeth work out there differences! I love the platonic GusxElizabeth in here too and PLEASE tell me if Matt finds a creative outlet"  
A: Yeah, I was pretty happy to get Gus and Elizabeth back to being friends. As for Jocelyn and Elizabeth... well, this chapter actually largely revolves around their dynamic, so look forward to that. As for Matt, you'll have to wait a little bit longer for him. But don't worry, everything will fall into place, one way or another.**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "Is this favor Dan owes her going to keep Elizabeth alive?"  
A: Interesting thought/theory. But answering one way or the other would be spoilers, so that's all I'll say on the matter.**

 **From RockRoy: "Damnit, why those cliffhangers? :( But is Alex the traitor? I think not, my guess is that he's a decoy. Great chapter as always :) I look forward to your update."  
A: I know, I'm sorry for the cliffhangers, haha. But they're so much fun! As for Alex, yes he really is the traitor, though not an intentional one. However, that doesn't mean that the demititans don't have other ways of spying on our heroes...**

 **From cghe: "What happened to Marcus? Is he still sitting in that jail cell, only this time with no one to watch him or care for him?** **Also, why computer tablets? Are you a fan of the Surface Pro?"  
A: Marcus is still sitting in a cell back at Camp Half-Blood, being guarded by the younger campers who stayed behind, which, when combined with the Bunker Nine security systems is more than sufficient for keeping him safely locked up. As for the tablet computers, I use them often in this series because they're larger and more professional than phones, but still small and light enough to be easily carried around, which fits the circumstances that they're used in. As for Surface Pros, I don't have one, but I've used a friend's before and it is super cool.**

 **From RememberingForgottenMemories: "This, *gestures to the chapter with a look of amazment* this is... there are no words. Just, none at all. (In the good way XD)** **I wonder what would happen if Elizabeth was hors de combat, or disabled to where she couldn't fight... *comes up with sceme with demititan insiders to plot Elizabeth's death*"  
A: I'm glad you loved the last chapter so much! I was really pleased with the way it turned out, too. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. And for your second part, it sounds like you're almost as evil as I am lol (and I am evil, I mean I killed Thalia after all).**

 **From angstyteenagetrash: "OOOOOOHHHHHH Cleo Rashid-Kane! I love it! I'm glad Lizzie and Gus have latched things up but still no Jocabeth . poor Alex I feel sorry for him... You're not gonna pull a Rick Riordan and make the traitor somebody like Selena like Hannah or Emily right O_o"  
A: Yeah, I thought that Cleo would be a fun tie in to the Kane Chronicles gang that may or may not be important in a potential sequel series (hint hint, wink wink). And yeah, I'm really pleased with how the Elizabeth and Augustus scene turned out. As for Jocabeth... well, you'll have to wait and see what happens. And yeah, Alex has been through quite a lot of BS over the course of the series, I kinda feel bad for him too (even though I'm the one who wrote things that way... whoops). And to your last point, I'll come right out and say that I won't be making Hannah or Emily a traitor too. So you can rest assured there.**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "WOW! NOW THAT was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I like how you added the detail of Chiron being like a grandfather to Elizabeth, just like he was a father for Annabeth.-Victoria"  
A: Yeah, I thought that was an important piece to note. These last couple chapters definitely have been an emotional rollercoaster, and it's honestly some of my favorite stuff to write - very character driven. And I'm really happy with the way last chapter turned out, and I'm really happy with how this chapter came out, too. So I hope you enjoy it!**

 **From ItsN: ""Jocebeth" I called that shit from day one, I'm glad to see others like it also"  
A: That you did. I remember that from some of your earliest reviews. Tbh, I've always been planning it, but I was quite surprised that someone picked up on it as early as you did, so props to you!**

 **Another from EllaAnnieGrace: "When do you have Spring Break? Because I REALLY want several new chappies, and if you are going to have a schedule for uploading, please stick to it, and if you can't, post an A/N just saying, "Sorry I can't upload Today, Life happened." I wouldn't even mind if you copy and pasted that, Bfalt. JUST PLEASE UPDATE!-Victoria"  
A: Yeah, I've been trying not to get specific about an upload schedule just because I know I can't stick to one right now, and I don't want to overload the story with a bunch of author's notes. As for Spring Break, I already had it, but I had to work all break (ugh), but I did get some work done on the story over break, so that's good. Fear not, I swear on the River Styx that I will finish this story, even if it takes me a little longer than I'd initially planned to do so.**

 **From Wolfstin: "Hey, are you okay? You haven't updated in a while and I just want to make sure. If it's just you don't have time to update or something happened that personal, I understand. I just want to make sure you're okay. Also, these are my favorite fanfictions that I've ever read, I just wanted to say that. Well, what ever the problem that's making you not update a lot, I hope it gets fixed, or you feel better or something."  
A: Thanks for checking in! I appreciate it, I really do. I'm okay, just super busy with college and work. I've been doing fairly well keeping some of my emotional problems in check recently, too (look back at my official author's note for details if you want), so that hasn't been that much of an issue. Like I said, it's just been hard for me to juggle everything recently. And also, thank you so much for the compliment. I am so proud of these stories, and I'm unbelievably happy and humbled that you consider them your favorites. So thank you, thank you, thank you.**

 **That's all the review responses. So real quick, a couple more things. First, this chapter involves going over battle plans a couple of times, and I make reference to the layout of Heart Island (where Boldt Castle is located) several times. In order to give you guys a better idea of what I'm talking about, here's a link to a picture of the brochure map they hand out to visitors of Boldt Castle (just delete the spaces): www . google search ? q = boldt + castle + boshure + map & espv = 2 & biw = 1304&bih = 702&source = lnms & tbm = isch & sa = X & ved = 0ahUKEwjZgbKZ8cXSAhXCShQKHTbeBTgQ _ AUICSgC # imgrc = x - VvFhNBFaivGM : **

**Alright, one last thing before we get started. I wanted to give you guys some warning that the f-bomb is dropped _once_ during this chapter. I didn't do this lightly, not only because of the T rating on this story, but also just because I've avoiding using the f-bomb so far to avoid falling back on it when I can't think of another word. Essentially, overuse of the word just tends to be lazy writing, and I don't want to give you guys lazy writing. But I did use it once in this chapter to really give what one of the characters is saying more of a punch. I just wanted to give you guys warning that that would happen.**

 **OKAY, that's finally it from me. Enjoy the chapter and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 14: I Make an Impassioned Plea

That night I dreamt. As had happened many times before, I found myself in the conference room where Gaius met with his council. As usual, all of the demititan commanders sat around a table. Gaius sat at the head of the table, but he looked down. His clothes were wrinkled, his sandy hair messy. There was a shadow along his jawline, like he'd forgotten to shave. Purple bags were under his golden eyes which shone much less brightly than usual. Something was wrong. I wondered slightly if he was still upset over my death – he had seemed remarkably shaken by it.

As always, Eliana sat next to him. She was looking over at Gaius with her own golden eyes, her auburn hair loose, and her freckles flushed. She looked upset as well, though more like she was upset at Gaius. On Gaius's other side in the chair that Marcus used to sit in was a woman with shoulder length, curly, tomato-red hair. She was incredibly attractive, and her tight white dress accentuated her supermodel figure. I'd seen her in one other dream before. This was Scarlett, daughter of Klymene. It looked like she'd replaced Marcus on Gaius's council. I bet that Marcus would be pretty upset to hear that.

Drake was missing from his usual seat, so that no doubt meant that Gaius's main base was not at Boldt Castle. Sitting directly across from Gaius were the twins, Caesaria and Andromeda. They both had insanely powerful magic, and I knew from our Labyrinth quest last year that they amplified each other's' abilities. Well, I had inferred that anyway. All they had definitely said was that they were linked, but whatever. They were both albino, with unnaturally pale skin and hair and red eyes, giving them a creepy, ghost-like vibe.

The last person at the table was someone I didn't recognize, but I figured that he was Marina's replacement on the council. His hair was whitish-blue and spiked up, almost like icicles. He wore armor, too, much like Eliana. However, unlike Eliana's plain Imperial gold armor, this guy's looked like Celestial bronze that had sat out in the cold too long and had accumulated ice on it. An interesting design choice. On the table in front of him was a matching helmet. His face, like his spiked hair, was all sharp angles, his eyes icy blue as well.

I had been dropped in in the middle of Scarlett's report. "-and the equipment is all set," Scarlett said. "We should be ready to broadcast in two days, three days max."

Gaius waved his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, very well. Anything else?"

"Er… well I also have a report from Drake, sir," Scarlett said, somewhat nervously. "As you know, the demigod forces are moving on his location. He… was getting nervous and so um… he contacted Alex de Marco and ordered him to attack their ship in order to turn them around. He thought it might deter their attack."

Gaius's eyebrows shot up. "He did _what_ now?!"

"Based on scouting reports, his attempt to turn the demigod forces away failed," Scarlett continued. "They have continued to sail towards his location. He's uh… requesting backup."

" _Backup?_ " Gaius asked incredulously. "He has almost fifteen hundred monsters packed on that tiny ass island, not to mention the fifty other demititans he has under his command there. If he can't defend Boldt Castle with a force that size, he doesn't deserve that command anyway."

Eliana cleared her throat. "Uh, Gaius? I agree that Drake is a total screw up, and I really don't care what happens to _him_ , but can we really afford to lose his forces? I mean, that's a lot of monsters, plus fifty demititans…"

"Monsters are coming out of Tartarus faster than they have in the past one thousand years," Gaius said. "We can replace them. As for the demititans… that is unfortunate, but there's not much we can do about that. Besides, we'll soon have a new source of troops. Our ranks will be larger than ever soon enough."

"Drake did mention one other thing while I was on the phone with him that you might be interested in, sir," Scarlett said. "Apparently the reports of Elizabeth Jackson's death are false, because she has returned to the demigods."

The change in Gaius was immediate. He leaned forward, his eyes lit up. He grinned slightly, an evil edge to the smile. "Elizabeth Jackson is alive?"

Scarlett nodded. "Apparently, sir." Eliana's face was dark. She had leaned back in her chair, her face stony, her eyes stormy. Her hands had clenched into fists. Scarlett glanced over at her nervously, as if worried about an outburst from her, but she went on, "After a month-long absence, Elizabeth returned to Camp Half-Blood just yesterday. Well, technically two days ago because it's after midnight, but you know what I mean."

"That is excellent news!" Gaius said excitedly. He grinned even wider. He seemed legitimately pleased that I was alive, which was disconcerting. I mean, I knew he wanted to keep me alive for our final battle or whatever, but the lengths to which he cared about it… Well, it made me uneasy to say the least. "It would appear that the prophecy about Elizabeth and myself continues to remain true. This proves very beneficial."

"How?" Eliana protested. "How does Elizabeth being alive help us, Gaius? You keep insisting that you need her alive to fulfill your prophecy together, but she has done nothing but cause problems for us! I mean, she killed Marina for Hyperion's sake! Surely you recognize how dangerous she is to us?"

Gaius eyed Eliana suspiciously, as if beginning to piece together that she was responsible for my supposed death. "My prophecy with her is _exactly_ in line with my plans. And leave Marina out of this. Her death was due to her failure to listen to my _explicit_ orders not to kill Elizabeth. It was unfortunate that she died… but that does not mean that Elizabeth is not still useful for my plans."

" _But how is she useful, Gaius?_ " Eliana asked, her voice getting dangerously loud. Everyone at the table looked between her and Gaius nervously. This was not a showdown anyone wanted to see. "For years you have been going on and on about how important Elizabeth Jackson is! Since we were _teenagers_! But no matter how many times I ask, you always avoid answering the question! You obsession with her is unhealthy. You are going to cost us this war!"

"ENOUGH!" Gaius shouted, his voice ringing throughout the room. Eliana froze, her face falling as she realized just what she'd done. Gaius's fists were clenched. His eyes blazed with anger I'd seen from him only once before – when he'd confronted me on the highway for killing Marina. This could not be good. "Everyone, leave us," he spat. The other council members didn't need to be told twice. They shot out of their chairs and practically ran for the door.

Meanwhile, Eliana seemed to shrink back in her chair. When the door finally shut behind the last person out the door, she quickly said, "Gaius, I –"

"Shut up," he growled, "and listen to me. I know you think you're special because we've known each other so long."

"I don't –"

"I said _shut up_!" Gaius spat. "You may be my oldest friend, but don't _ever_ forget who's in charge here, and _never_ question me in front of the others again. I won't hesitate to make an example out of you just because of what we once had. Do you understand?"

Eliana looked like she was about to throw up. I actually almost felt sorry for her. Almost. It was kinda difficult to actually manage sympathy for the woman who had killed me. "Gaius –"

" _Do you understand?_ "

Finally, Eliana nodded. "Yes… sir. I understand. It… it was a mistake."

"You're damn right it was," Gaius said. He stood up abruptly, flattening out his shirt as he did so and regaining his composure. "Now then, I have a broadcast to prepare for. And you have a flight to catch."

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was a subdued affair. Apparently word had spread that Alex was the traitor, and the blow seemed to hit everyone hard. Alex de Marco, as annoying as he occasionally was, was an important leader at camp. Losing him stung. Not to mention that everyone was now worried that we were sailing into a trap. I could potentially refute that worry – after all, my dream indicated that Gaius was refusing to send backup. However, that probably would have also involved me revealing that Gaius didn't care about losing Drake's forces because his army was already big enough, and that would have depressed people even more. So I kept the details of my dream mostly to myself, though I did fill in Theo and Katherine (minus the parts about me dying).

"What's even the point of attacking Boldt Castle!" Theo groaned after I'd finished relaying my dream. "I mean, if his army is large enough without those forces…"

"It's still an important strategic target," Katherine said, though she seemed down about the news, too. "We just can't leave such a concentrated group of monsters and demititans so close to Olympus. And so close to mortal settlements."

"And think about it," I tacked on, "even though we know that Gaius's forces are plenty powerful without Drake, they're definitely farther away than Boldt Castle. If they were closer to New York, we would've found their base already. This way, at least, we deny Gaius a good launching ground for his larger forces. Plus, if we manage to capture Drake, then we can really find out a lot about Gaius's plans. I doubt that he was preemptively removed from the demititan council like Marcus was."

"Yeah, I guess so," Theo said dejectedly. "It's just… no matter what we do, Gaius always seems to have _more_. More plans, more troops, more resources… how are we supposed to beat someone who always has more?"

I couldn't help but share his feeling of helplessness. Still, we had to try, right? What was the point of all the suffering we'd been through so far if we didn't at least try? I was about to say as much to Theo, when Katherine asked, "And you said that Gaius and his second in command Eliana got in a huge fight?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it got pretty tense."

"This is good for us," Katherine pointed out. "Maybe this fight can cause a serious rift in their forces…"

"Maybe," I said slowly. "But Gaius seems to have something over everyone… not sure what exactly, because he's not shown off any serious powers. But whatever it is, the demititans are ridiculously loyal to him. I mean, even those that disobey him and go behind his back to do things like 'try to kill me' still have ultimate loyalty to Gaius. They still want Gaius as their leader. And almost immediately after yelling at him, Eliana seemed to realize her mistake. I don't think it'll cause any serious issues in his command capacity."

Katherine frowned. "Well, so much for the bright side then."

"Sorry," I mumbled, realizing I probably shouldn't have said anything. We needed to get motivated, not upset.

"And what were they fighting about?" Theo asked.

"Uh… I don't remember," I lied. I _really_ didn't want to get into the conversation about how they thought I was dead. Largely because I _had_ died, and I wanted to stay as far away from that topic as possible. I planned on keeping my promise to Rhea, despite the difficulty it was causing me. I cleared my throat, changing the topic away from my dream. "Listen guys, after I have my meeting about the strike team, I want to meet with the whole team right here, at this table, so I can fill everyone in. Can you two get everyone together while I'm in the meeting?"

Katherine and Theo nodded, both still down it seemed. I sighed. "And look, I'm sorry for being such a downer. But try to think of it like this – at least we'll have a chance to take down Drake. That's gotta count for something, right?"

* * *

That afternoon, I went up to the bridge to get my full strike team briefing. The bridge was a really big space. Up at the front were huge windows. A bunch of control panels filled the room. Out the window, I could see the St. Lawrence River stretching in front of the ship, the shore line just visible on the left. Most of the control panels were unused; it seemed like a skeleton crew was controlling the ship, all of them Hermes campers. In the dead center of the room, overseeing all of the various crew members, was Jocelyn. Her back was to me. My heart slammed itself against my ribcage. Even from behind, she looked great today. Her shoulder length caramel hair looked extra glossy. And the way she stood with her hip cocked really emphasized her cur –

I felt myself blushing hard. I shook myself, I was here for business. And besides that, Jocelyn clearly didn't want anything to do with me. I turned my attention to the table somewhat close to the door. Elesa and Spencer stood with their backs to the windows. Across the table from them were Augustus and James. Apparently, I was the last one to arrive. They all glanced at me as I entered. "Ah, perfect timing," Spencer said. "Let's get started."

I quickly took a spot at the table next to Augustus. Strewn on the tabletop were maps. One showed Heart Island – where Boldt Castle was located – in the context of the surrounding area. About a mile, maybe two downstream, Elesa and Spencer had drawn a big red "X," no doubt marking our launching zone. The next map looked like a blown up version of the pamphlet they handed out to visitors when they came to the island. It was a close up of the island itself, displaying all the buildings and other areas of interest, with letters and numbers marking all of these spots. Spencer and Elesa had drawn their own marks on this map, indicating where the siege weapons were located and how our troops would be moving once we landed on the island. The rest of the papers displayed floor plans of the castle itself. The floor plans also had the letters and numbers from the guest pamphlet marking areas of interest. Similarly, Elesa and Spencer had drawn on this one, too.

"As all three of you know," Elesa started, "your strike teams will be the first ones landing on Heart Island. Your job is to incapacitate the siege weapons the demititans have installed on the island. Your teams will be approaching in speed boats rather than the large ferries that the rest of our forces will be arriving in. This should give you a better chance to avoid the demititans' projectiles."

"If you'll look at this map here, you'll see that we've marked the locations of their siege weapons," Spencer said, pointing to the island map. I looked closer at the spots that he and Elesa had marked on the brochure map. There were nine siege weapon spots in total. Six were pretty close to the shoreline, but the other three were further inland. "There are a total of six strike teams," Spencer went on. "Obviously the other three teams are Roman. After speaking to Sierra and Tony, we've agreed that your strike teams will target the siege weapons on the southeast side of the island. The Romans will hit the northwest ones."

"Elizabeth, we'll go over your strike team's plan first," Elesa said. "Your team will hit this spot, here." She pointed to an X on a building the map identified as the "Power House." The building itself was slightly offshore, apparently, connected to the island via a short bridge. I vaguely remembered that when my family went there when I was younger, the building was offshore in order to take advantage of the river's waves as a way to generate electricity. "On top of the power house," Elesa continued, "there's a huge ballista. Your team will need to land, then work your way up to the roof. Before you knock out this ballista, point it inland towards this spot here." She indicated an X by the "Italian Garden." "There's an onager there, and those can be incredibly destructive. Destroy the onager with the Power House ballista before you destroy the ballista itself. Understood?"

"Yeah, makes sense," I said.

Elesa nodded. "Good. Now, after you destroy the Power House ballista, your team will head to the foundation level of the castle itself. There's a tunnel connecting the Power House directly to the foundation. Follow that. The foundation level is one of our rendezvous points, so hold there until I arrive."

"I assume my team will be the first ones there?" I asked. "And you're hoping we can clear out the foundation and hold it?"

"Your team and James's, yes," Elesa said.

"Speaking of James," Spencer cut in, "your team will be hitting this spot here." He pointed to an X only slightly inland from the shore, between a spot called "Shell Fountain" and the gazebo. "This is another ballista. Nothing real special about this one. It's pretty close to the shore, so just land and take it out. Once you have, head straight for the nearby entrance to the foundation level. You'll need to move quickly, as this spot is one of the most open areas, and we want to get you into some cover as quickly as possible. Got it?"

"Right," James said. "We've got this."

"Glad to hear it," Spencer said. "Last but not least, Augustus your team will hitting this spot." He pointed to an X on top of the spot for Alster Tower. If memory served me, the guy who'd built the castle had intended Alster Tower to be a play area for his kids, but a way more decked out play area than a simple toy house. The bottom level was supposed to have been a two-lane bowling alley, for instance. "Like Elizabeth's ballista on top of the Power House, yours is at the very top of Alster Tower, right on the roof. There's both a ballista and an onager up there, so you'll have to take both of them out. Before you do, try to take out the weapon platform on the roof of the main castle itself. Our flyby recon missions indicated that the demititans have built huge, flat platforms on the roof of the castle, where they have stationed three ballistae. So try to take those out from the weapons on top of Alster Tower. We think the angle might be tricky, though. If you can't hit them, break off. We don't want to leave you exposed for too long."

"I could fly up there and take out those three ballistae," Augustus suggested.

"You will do no such thing," Elesa said. "That will leave you far too vulnerable to attack. We are not risking anyone more than we absolutely have to. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Gus said, frowning from being chided. "Just thought I'd suggest it."

"Also, about your team," Spencer said, "Vanessa has dropped out. She refuses to serve under you. She still thinks we're being unfair to Alex. It's an unreasonable response, but we can't do anything about it. We've replaced her with Lorenzo Tempest from the Aeolus cabin. Have you worked with him before?"

Augustus shook his head. "Didn't he arrive at camp while I was away?"

"Yeah, he got to camp back in March," Spencer said. "Good kid, though. Pretty powerful."

Gus nodded. "Alright, works for me."

"After you've disabled the weapons atop Alster Tower," Elesa went on, "you'll be looping around to the porch, where the main entrance to the castle is. That's the second rendezvous point. You'll be meeting up with one of the Roman strike teams led by Alicia Hilton." Alicia was one of Tony's best friends, I knew. She'd been with him on the quest where I first met Tony back in Las Vegas. So I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised that she was leading a strike team, but for some reason I was. She'd never struck me as much of a fighter. "Your two teams will be holding that spot until Tony arrives," Elesa finished. "Understood?"

Augustus nodded. "Yep, I've got it."

"Very well," Elesa said. "We'll go over the full details of what happens next at the overall briefing tonight after we land. For now, are there any questions about what we've just covered?" James, Augustus, and I all shook our heads. Elesa nodded, allowing herself the smallest of satisfied smiles, as if she was glad her description of the plan was clear enough for us. "Very well then," she said. "Please make sure you brief your squads before we reach the launching site. You're all dismissed."

Spencer and Elesa turned away from us and walked slightly farther into the bridge, conversing quietly. I slouched slightly. I had barely realized how straight I'd been standing during the briefing. I turned to go, but Augustus put his hand on my shoulder to hold me back. After James had excited the bridge, Augustus leaned close and whispered, "You should talk to her."

I scoffed. Obviously he meant Jocelyn. That wasn't going to happen right now. She was still in the business of ignoring me, I knew. She wasn't about to start talking to me now. _But one of you could die in battle_ , part of me said. _What if you don't have another chance to make up with her?_ I frowned. I hated it when I won an argument against myself.

"Fine," I whispered back to Gus. "But I'm not really expecting anything."

"I didn't say you should expect something," Gus countered quietly. "But you should at least try instead of sulking about it."

I felt anger flare up very briefly, but it died almost immediately. Gus was right, after all. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," I sighed. "You're right. But I'm not doing this with you watching me. Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Gus nodded. "Good luck." He gave me a small pat on the shoulder, then headed out the door. I turned back towards the rest of the bridge. Jocelyn was still in the middle of the room, overseeing her campers running the ship. Our meeting just now hadn't shaken her from her job. I steeled myself, then made my way over to where she was standing.

"Uh, hey Jocelyn," I said. "Can – can we please talk?"

Jocelyn turned to me, her face completely blank. "Sorry Jackson, but as you can no doubt see, I'm busy running this ship."

"Jackson?" I repeated incredulously. "Since when do you call me Jackson? Joce, we're best friends. Please, at least hear me out."

Jocelyn arched an eyebrow, though her face remained blank. "Best friends? A best friend does not act the way you have towards me. Now, as I said, I have a job to do." She turned around abruptly, like I wasn't even there anymore.

I gaped slightly at her, trying to think of something… _anything_ to say to respond to that. Part of me wanted to get angry, but I couldn't because she was absolutely right. I felt a sob well up in my throat. I practically sprinted out of the room, refusing to break down in front of all these people. But as soon as I was safely out in the hallway, I fell to the floor and cried, my heart broken, my brain drifting into a fog of depression.

After a few minutes, I gulped down some air, trying to calm down. I needed to get my shit together. I had been _way_ too emotional lately. Besides which, I still had work to do. For starters, I had to brief the rest of my strike team on the plan. After wiping away the last of my tears, I stood up. Determined to put my emotional baggage aside until after the battle.

* * *

After I briefed my team, I spent the rest of the ride aboard the cruise ship in my cabin. Ostensibly, I was fleshing out some of the particulars for the strike team. But in reality, I was so emotionally drained from the last couple of days that I just sat in my cabin staring blankly at the wall while listening to my favorite band's music. They'd released a new album in the month I was gone, and it was really good. I hoped listening to their new album would pump me up for the upcoming battle, but I was in too much of an emotional funk.

The emotional paralysis I was facing now reminded me of when I'd first gotten depression, after Gaius had cut off my arm, and it was _really_ not good with this battle coming up. I needed to be sharp, ready for action; not physically, emotionally, and mentally drained and lethargic. Still, I didn't know what to do. I'd already taken my meds today, and clearly Jocelyn - who was usually the one who could snap me out of my emotional funks - didn't want anything to do with me, which was of course the problem. And I couldn't blame her for that. I was a piece of shit, after all. I could only hope that I would get a rush of adrenaline that would snap me out of this funk as we sailed into battle.

Anyway, I barely stirred until Elesa's voice came over the ship's loudspeakers. "We are now arriving at the launch site. Everyone, please make your way off the ship in an orderly fashion. If you're on equipment detail, report to Jake in the atrium for your assignment. We will be holding our full combat briefing on the beach in exactly an hour and a half. That is all."

I sat up slowly, threw my bag over my shoulder, and strapped my sword to my waist. As I exited out into the hall, Katherine almost ran straight into me. Her face was slightly flushed indicating that she'd either been yelling at or making out with her boyfriend. It was hard to tell these days. I still wasn't entirely sure if she and James had made up yet. "Oops, sorry," she said. "I was just coming to get you. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said flatly.

Katherine frowned, like she knew I was lying, but she didn't press the issue. Instead, she grabbed her things from our room, and then we walked off in silence. Eventually, we joined the crowd of people debarking from the ship. I looked around, trying to find Theo in the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he was off helping Jake. As we emerged out of the ship and onto the ramp connecting it to the dock, I got my first view of our launch site. We were at a huge marina. Dozens of smaller docks branched off of the big main one, where the two cruise ships' exit ramps were attached. Up on a small hill there was a big building that looked one part storage facility and one part office space. A bunch of tents were set up around it, and a makeshift wall had been constructed around the whole area, no doubt the work of the veterans who had come up early to secure the area for us. I wondered how we'd gotten permission to use these facilities at all, though. This was… quite the expansive place.

I looked to the right, upstream. Off in the distance, I could see it. Boldt Castle. It looked tiny from where we were, but it was still clearly visible (though that might've been because the sun was setting right behind it). In just a handful of hours, we'd be there, fighting our way through the biggest horde of monsters any of us had ever faced. The thought gave me chills.

Slowly, we made our way down the ramps and onto the docks. Several older people I didn't recognize were waiting at the bottom to take our bags. No doubt they were some of the veterans who'd volunteered to help out. After leaving our bags with them, Katherine and I made our way to the end of the dock where we were greeted with a familiar voice. "Kat! Elizabeth!" Striding towards us through the crowd, grinning, with short black hair, a linebacker's frame, and teal eyes was an old friend and the former counselor of the Poseidon cabin – Mike.

Katherine rushed forwards, pushing through the crowd and practically tackled her brother with a hug. "What are you doing here?" she asked when they broke apart.

"When the call came along that you guys needed some veterans to volunteer, Violet and I were some of the first to sign up," he said. "Good opportunity to see my two favorite girls besides my girlfriend."

I hugged Mike as well, and I couldn't help but grin. Slowly, my depressed fog was starting to lift. Because despite the dire circumstances, it was great to see him again. For a moment I was transported back in time to when I was thirteen and just starting at camp as a clueless kid. Things had been so simple then…

Just then, Violet appeared as well. She was Mike's long-term girlfriend and the former head of the Aphrodite cabin. She was one of the most beautiful people I'd ever met, with the type of perfect hourglass figure usually reserved for Disney princesses, full, dark hair, and full lips. Yet despite her insanely good looks, she was a very kind and down to earth person. And I knew for a fact that she didn't mind getting her hands dirty in combat, unlike many Aphrodite campers. She was quite good with a bow, having used one to great effect against Theo and I in a chariot race a couple of years ago. She smiled and hugged both Katherine and I as well. "It's great to see you guys again! Though I do wish it was under better circumstances."

Just then, a couple of Hephaestus campers pushed past us, carrying a crate of supplies up to the big building I'd noticed from the ramp. "What is this place?" I asked curiously. "How'd we get permission to use such a big facility as our launching site?"

"Apparently this marina is a subsidiary of a company owned by someone who went to camp at the same time as your folks," Mike explained. "I guess Spencer and Elesa got in touch with her and she agreed to open the facility for our use. Someone named Clarisse la Rue? Sound familiar?"

"I've heard the name," I said, struggling to remember _exactly_ who she was. I was pretty sure I'd met her once or twice a few years ago. Dad had made some snide joke about toilets to her…?

* * *

Over the course of the next hour or so, all of our important equipment was unloaded from the two cruise ships. Crates containing armor and weapons were taken up to the main building. The mech suits were loaded directly onto these big ferries at the docks, each of which sunk a couple extra feet into the water. As the sun sunk lower and lower into the sky, the veterans switched on a bunch of huge, bright lights, keeping the launch site as bright as midday.

And then, around nine o' clock, it was time for our battle briefing. Mike and Violet bid us good luck and farewell, heading off to take over guard duty up at the wall. Meanwhile, all the campers – nearly four hundred of us – gathered on the beach in front of the main dock. On the dock itself, Elesa, Spencer, Sierra, and Tony took their place. With them were Jake and a girl from the Aphrodite cabin I'd seen but never really spoken to before. She was probably about fourteen, with strawberry blonde hair and a splay of freckles across her nose. She looked pretty nervous. Elesa turned and said something quietly to Jake, who nodded. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. He tapped a couple of things on the screen, then set the phone on the ground behind their feet. Instantly a huge holographic map of Heart Island sprung up behind them.

I let out a low whistle, impressed. Theo, who had materialized out of the crowd next to Katherine and I, smiled. "Gods, my boyfriend is such a genius!"

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Tony shouted. Silence fell over the beach. "Now, the strike team leaders have already been briefed on their role, so we'll spare you those details. What's important to know is what happens after the strike teams have taken out the island's defenses. As soon as that happens, we will be landing ferries at each of these locations." Instantly, ten red dots appeared on the map.

"Each group will be accompanied by one mech suit," Sierra went on. "Once you land, you'll be making your way over to one of three rendezvous points. Camp Half-Blood will be amassing in the foundation level of the castle, or on the porch. As for the Legion, we'll be gathering on the porch or making our way up this path here to the garden area outside the house." As she spoke, lines appeared on the map showing the various routes she was talking about. "Each of the ferries will have either one of the four of us, or someone else we've picked out as a squad captain. They've been briefed on which rendezvous point you'll be heading to, so listen to their instructions."

"Once we've gathered at these rendezvous points, we will enter the castle proper," Elesa continued. "This will allow us to strike the interior from three directions – the main entrance, the garden door, and the staircase up from the foundation. Once inside, we'll make our way up level by level, taking the enemy forces out systematically until they surrender."

"Be aware that we know one of the demititan commanders, Drake, _is_ there, but we don't know exactly where," Spencer added. "Our top priority is taking him down. If we can capture him, great, but if we have to kill him, we will. The main thing is, we have to remove him from the equation. We're hoping that by taking him out, Gaius's command council will be significantly weaker, and if we capture him, who knows what secrets we might uncover? But now we're going to turn things over to Jake and Carrie, who will fill everyone in on our new equipment."

"Thanks Spencer," Jake said. "Uh, and hello everyone. For the last month or so Carrie and I have been working on a new standardized armor setup. After we finish this briefing, you'll need to report to the main building to get your new armor. We've got some of the veterans handing it out. You'll find several lines, each for different groupings of last name letters. So like… if your last name is Anderson, you'll get in the A through F line."

"The uh… new armor has multiple layers," the fourteen-year-old girl up on the dock said, her nerves clearly apparent in her voice. No doubt, she was Carrie. "The bottom layer is made up of uh… these." She reached down into a box at her feet and held up a dark blue, long sleeve spandex shirt and matching tights. "These are uh… woven with celestial bronze and uh… Kevlar filaments."

"Obviously this layer doesn't make you suddenly invincible, but it's an extra layer of protection we never had before," Jake went on. "Next we have these." Carrie reached down and pulled out a pair of pants. They were proper military cargo pants. They were even camo, in shades of navy, blue, and white. "We've loaded ambrosia into a couple of the pockets, so if you get into a tight spot and don't have a medic nearby, you've got something quick to access. We've also woven these with celestial bronze and Kevlar filaments, so they'll be plenty protective, too."

"We also got a hold of pairs of uh… steel toed combat boots for everyone," Carrie added. Oh thank gods, I needed a new pair of those. I was getting tired of wearing my old skate sneakers, though that was mostly because they did not fit so well anymore.

"Finally, you'll be wearing your standard bronze or gold breastplates and arm guards over your spandex shirts," Jake said. "We have enough for everyone. Also, we brought along enough shields and spare weapons for everyone, too. So make sure you grab everything you need when you go up to the building to get your armor. Now, the last piece is your helmets. I've outfitted all of them with com-links for easy communication on the battlefield. To send out a broadcast, hold your hand next to the left side of your helmet and speak. It'll go through. But keep unnecessary chatter off the coms so that commanders' messages and emergency calls can get through."

"Al-also," Carrie added, "strike team leaders and captains will have blue horsehair Mohawks on their helmets. The uh… the command council will have gold Mohawks, so if you… if you have to find them, keep an eye out for a Mohawk." She finished the last part of her sentence all in a rush. Her face had grown quite red. Public speaking definitely wasn't her thing.

"Any questions on the armor situation?" Jake asked.

From somewhere off to my left, Jocelyn's voice rang out, "What about those of us in the mech suits? It's kinda cramped in those things. There won't be room for the helmets or breastplates."

"Good point," Jake said. "We'd still like those of you in the mech suits to wear the innermost layer and combat pants, but like you said, there's not gonna be room for your bronze or gold armor. So stay in the suits unless you've got an extreme emergency. As for coms, I've installed them directly in the suits. I've added a button for transmitting, as well, and it's labelled, so you should be good there. Any other questions?"

When none came out, Elesa took back over, "Alright, go get your armor on and load up into your boats. Captains, you know which ferries you are assigned to. Make sure you check in your crew as they load up. Strike teams, the speed boats that you will be approaching the island in are down at the furthest dock. You may pick whichever you would like, that part doesn't really matter. As soon as everyone is loaded up, we will depart. Tonight we are going to strike the biggest blow yet against the demititans. For Olympus!"

Everyone cheered.

* * *

Up at the marina building, everyone hurriedly put on their new clothes and armor. People were stripping down to their underwear to pull on their tights right there in the open space, but no one seemed to be embarrassed or care about glancing at one another. We were all too focused. My strike team and I gathered in one of the corners as we suited up. As we undressed and then began to redress, my thoughts remained on one thing: the situation with Jocelyn. I knew I should be getting psyched up for battle, but I just couldn't do that. Not with Jocelyn still so pissed off at me. The reality of sailing into battle was hammering home just how much I wanted… no _needed_ to fix things between us. I had to find her before we left… before it was too late.

"Alright guys, listen up," I said as I yanked on my tights. "And Dan, stop staring," I added, noticing him looking at my midsection.

He blushed hard, which was extra bright considering how pale he typically was. "No, it's not… I wasn't…. Sorry. I just… I was just surprised that you had a six-pack is all."

I glanced down at my own midsection as I pulled on my new spandex shirt. I'd almost forgotten about my new six-pack as well… I supposed Dan was off the hook this time. "Well, anyway, this is it. As soon as you've got your armor on, head down to the docks and pick out a boat. Katherine you're driving. I'll meet you guys down there. Theo and I just have one more thing to take care of first."

"We do?" Theo asked as he stuffed extra arrows into his quiver.

I gave him a meaningful look. "Yes, we do." I did up the straps on my armor, threw my shield over my shoulder, and tucked my helmet under my arm. "See you guys in a little bit."

I grabbed Theo's arm and dragged him with me. "Where are we going?" he hissed.

"To find Jocelyn," I said determinedly. "I'm talking to her before this battle whether she likes it or not. And I can't do this without you."

Theo instantly straightened. "I'm with you, Elizabeth. It's about time you two talk. You should tell her how you feel while you're at it."

"Oh gods, no," I said, my stomach lurching. "I just want to open things back up with her. We can cross the 'my feelings' bridge another time." _Not likely_ , I thought, _cause Hades is gonna want me back when this is all over anyway._

We went outside. Throngs of campers were already out there, filtering down to the docks, or otherwise doing what Theo and I were doing – searching for someone assigned to a different squad to talk before sailing into battle. Theo and I looked around, craning our necks over the crowd, trying to spot Jocelyn. "There," Theo said, pointing. Jocelyn was halfway down to the docks, visible because she was one of the few people not in bronze or gold armor.

We rushed down the hill, pushing between campers. After a moment, we started to get close. "Jocelyn, wait!" I called, pushing between two vaguely familiar Romans.

"Sorry Jackson," she replied over her shoulder, "but I've got to get into my into my mech suit on my ferry. And don't you have a strike team to go lead?" She kept walking.

Steeling my nerve, I reached out and grabbed her wrist. A jolt of electricity surged up my arm. My heart pounded way out of control. Still, I shouted, "Please, just listen to me for one second!"

Seeing my outburst, people started to give us a bit of a berth. Some other people started staring, making me feel even more nervous and self-conscious about what was going on. But I refused to give up on this. If one of us didn't make it through this battle without making up…

"Listen to you?" Jocelyn said quietly, her back still towards me. Suddenly she spun around, her face so red it was almost purple. Her cool exterior was gone. "Like you listened to me, right?" Her South Carolina accent was out in full force now, stronger than I'd ever heard it before. "You know, when Theo and I told you not to run off or do anything else stupid? You listened _really_ well then, didn't you?"

"Joce – "

"No!" she shouted, and I noticed tears forming in her eyes. "Don't you 'Joce' me! You know, after losing my mom, I decided I wouldn't get close to anyone ever again. Save myself the hurt, you feel me? But for some reason I let you and Theo in. _But then you went and ran off!_ So yeah, thanks for proving me right, Elizabeth. I really shouldn't have gotten close to you if you were just gonna be careless and reckless! I mean, you clearly have no regard for me, or even for your own life, so why should I waste _my_ time caring about _you_? It'll only be a matter of time before you do something else stupid. But I guess I should have expected as much from you!"

"Jocelyn, please calm down," Theo said calmly, though I could tell by the look on his face how upset this whole thing was making him.

Jocelyn ignored him, continuing on her tirade against me. "But you know, I could almost – _almost_ – forgive that if you didn't lie about what happened! I mean, Elizabeth Jackson acting stupid and reckless? Nothing new there. But lying about what happened to the people who care about you? That's a new low. I mean _come on! A car crash?!_ No one buys that! Not even Theo and he's gullible as shit!"

"Hey!" Theo protested.

"Sorry," Jocelyn said quickly before immediately turning her attention back to me. "So you run off alone, despite your friends' warnings, on a wild goose chase that could've gotten you killed, you stay gone _for a whole fucking month_ , and then you _lie_ about it? Why should I want to be friends with someone who does that to others? Do you realize what you put us through? I mean, I was pretty sure that you'd _died_!"

"I did!" I shouted back, almost reflexively. I just couldn't hold it in any longer, especially with Jocelyn's words hitting me like fast balls. I felt like I'd been stabbed over and over in the heart, especially since Jocelyn was absolutely right about me. I knew I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about what Rhea had done, but I just couldn't hide the truth any longer. Luckily, the crowd was well away by now, so no one heard my outburst except Jocelyn and Theo.

"Wha- what do you mean 'you did'?" Theo asked. "You… you died?" Theo and Jocelyn were both staring at me, confused, nervous, and a little bit afraid.

I took a deep breath. "I uh… I followed a trail to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks," I said quietly. Even though no one else was nearby, I still didn't want to speak too loudly. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone this, but if I was gonna break that promise, I'd rather it be with just Theo and Jocelyn. "I thought I had found the place where they were keeping my family. But… the place was uh… abandoned. I got mad, but then I uh… I found a secret door. It… it led down into a basement. When I got down there, this big metal door slammed shut behind me and locked. And then… Eliana appeared on this big TV screen. She… she told me she'd rigged the place to explode. She pressed a button and… blew the place up. With me inside. I… I died."

"Clearly you didn't," Jocelyn said quickly, obviously still angry. But the tremor in her voice betrayed that what I was saying shook her. "I mean… if you'd died, how could you be here?"

"I get it," I said. "It's hard to believe. But I really did die, I swear on the River Styx. I was in DOA Recording Studios, the entrance to the Underworld, and everything. I was seconds… no, _milliseconds_ , away from giving Charon my drachma to cross the River Styx. But then… Rhea walked in."

"Rhea?" Theo asked. "I know I've heard of her…"

"Kronos's wife," Jocelyn said, her voice much smaller than I was used to it being. "She uh… she's Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera's mom."

I nodded. "She uh… negotiated with Hades to give me a one-time pass on dying so that I could 'fulfill my destiny.' She… she wanted to buy me some more time so I could… so I could stop Gaius and save the gods. Her family. I guess she thinks I'm her best chance for defending them against whatever Gaius has up his sleeve. After resurrecting me, she kept me in training with her for a month before sending me back, so that I'd be ready to face Gaius when the time came. But there's… there's a catch. See, she was pretty sure that Hades was going… that he was going to want me back after I fulfill my prophecy with Gaius. I'm on purchased time… and it might not be that much time."

Theo and Jocelyn stared at me in silence, their faces stony. I cleared my throat awkwardly and fought against the urge to completely break down. Getting this far was proving even more difficult than I'd thought it would be, and that was saying something. Telling the story made me relive all the terror I'd faced in the moments before I'd died, the shame and bitterness I'd felt after being brought back, the guilt over not listening to anyone's warnings – not my friends', not Mr. D's, not even my grandmother's. But I wasn't quite done yet. I had to press on. "Rhea… she told me that I couldn't tell anyone the truth, and for once I actually listened. But I… I can't hide the truth from you guys anymore. You were right, Jocelyn… you were right with everything you just said about me. I'm a horrible friend… I'm stupid and reckless… and I… I can't promise that I'll never be stupid and reckless again, even with the limited time I have left. But I… I can't do this without you, Joce. And what I can promise you is that I will never intentionally keep you out of the loop again. I won't lie to you anymore. I… I understand if you don't want to be my friend again after everything, especially considering how little time I probably have left. I know that it's selfish of me to ask you to be my friend again despite my limited time, but if you could find it in –"

"Elizabeth, stop," Jocelyn said softly. Her eyes were red, and I noticed wet streaks underneath them. I'd noticed tears forming at the beginning of her tirade against me, but when had she actually cried? "I'm… I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I… I had no idea what you'd been through."

"That's because I didn't tell you," I put in. "Because, you know, I'm a bitch."

"You're not a bitch," Jocelyn said. "And you aren't a bad friend. I'm the bad friend for getting so caught up in my anger and hurt that I ignored what was really important: you're alive. And if you're going to stay that way… if we're going to stop Hades from taking you back… then you're going to need my help."

The dam that was holding back my tears was threatening to burst. "So we're… we're good?" I managed to ask.

Jocelyn rubbed her neck. "Well… you're right about one thing. You need me. And as much as I would sometimes like to pretend otherwise… I need you, too. So… yeah, we're good."

I almost couldn't stay on my feet. My legs trembled and my overstrained tear ducts finally burst. I rushed forward, dropping my helmet, and hugged Jocelyn. We stayed that way for a long time. I felt my whole body heating up, and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped completely. After Jocelyn and I finally broke apart, I thought I noticed her face flushed slightly. I shook myself. That couldn't be. Must've been a trick of the weird lighting. Theo gave both of us huge hugs, too.

"Thanks gods," he said. "I thought you two would never make up."

"Yeah, this has been great and touchy-feely and all," Jocelyn said, though I noticed her sniffle slightly despite the sarcasm, "but… I think we're holding up the battle. We should get going. But after we take Boldt Castle, Elizabeth, we're going to talk more. Particularly about how to find a way around the whole 'Hades taking you back' thing. Deal?"

I didn't want to say that the chances of getting me out of Hades's hit list were almost negligible, not so soon after making up, so instead I just said, "Okay, deal. Be careful out there."

"You too," Jocelyn said. She gave both Theo and I quick hugs, then ran off down to her ferry.

I bent down and picked up my helmet. "We should load up, too," I said to Theo.

"Yeah, we should," he agreed. "But uh… are you okay? It looked like that took a lot out of you and uh… dying and coming back to life… that's pretty heavy stuff, Elizabeth."

Honestly, I didn't really feel okay. That had been painful and difficult, and Theo was right. Dying and coming back to life was heavy stuff. I'd already had enough emotional baggage before all that happened, but ever since then, things had been crazy for me. But I couldn't focus on that. I was about to lead a team of nine other people into battle. They were counting on me. I needed to get in the zone. And I needed to make sure everyone on my team was in the zone.

"Doesn't matter if I'm fine," I said. "I'm good enough to lead, that's what matters right now. But Theo… are you okay? I mean I just dropped a bombshell on you."

Theo sighed, frowning. "I mean, not really. I'm… I'm scared for you Elizabeth. I don't want to lose you. But I think if you, me, and Jocelyn stick together, we can find a way to get you out of the mess you're in. That I have faith in. When have the three of us failed when we've stuck together, right?"

I smiled slightly. "The three of us have never tried to deny Hades a soul before, but dammit, there's no one else I'd rather try with. First though, let's get through this battle, deal?"

Theo nodded. "I'm with you, Elizabeth. All the way."

I donned my helmet. "Alright Theo. It's game time. Let's go show Drake who's boss."

* * *

 **AN: Alright this wraps up yet another chapter. Next chapter (whenever that comes) the battle of Boldt Castle will finally begin. So look forward to that, and I'll see you guys then!**


	16. Chapter 15: We Storm a Beach

**AN: Hello everyone! Long time, no see. As always, I want to apologize for the extended delay in getting this chapter up. As I have said, my life has been pretty crazy. BUT, the good news is that my semester is finally over! In fact, it ended a couple weeks ago. Now you may be wondering why I didn't update sooner if my semester has been over for a couple weeks. Well, whenever I write, I like to handwrite a rough draft before I make a second draft on my computer which usually ends up being what I upload. So I have spent the last couple of weeks handwriting rough drafts for the remainder of this book, meaning that from here until we finish this book, you'll be getting much quicker uploads. At the bottom, I will give you the dates of when I plan on uploading each of the remaining chapters, so stick around for that. Now, though, let's do review responses.**

 **From Isak: "** **I just love your stories! Keep up the good work aha"  
A: Thanks! I plan to!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "This was a REALLY sad, but REALLY satisfying. I liked the little part about Clarisse.-Victoria"  
A: Thanks, that was what I was going for with the big shouting match between Jocelyn and Elizabeth, so I'm glad it came across well. And yeah, I had fun slipping in that little reference to Clarisse.**

 **From RockRoy: "I really want to scream at you for stopping here, but this chapter was so good. Thanks for writing this story, it's actually something looking forward to when you update. You're a seriously good writer when coming to character-building and storytelling. No idea if you want to publish beyond fanfiction one day, but if it's as good as this, it'll be a good day."  
A: I'm glad you loved the chapter so much, and I'm really happy that you look forward to my updates so much. From here on out, you won't have to wait so long between updates. And thank you so much for the compliments. I would actually love to publish my own original stories someday. If it happens while I'm still writing fanfics on here, I'll be sure to let you guys know!**

 **From Wolfstin: "Cool, cool, you updated. I- actually, if I said that I wasn't really excited when I saw this... that would be a lie. I was actually very excited... well, you know, that sort of happened... Anyways, I'm glad nothing too, too bad happened. What you should do, is you should, during your spring break, try to update with two chapters once, at least once. Or maybe more. That should be a goal. Also, your so very welcome!"  
A: Glad you were so excited to see the update last time, and I hope you're equally excited this time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get anything else up before the semester ended, but luckily updates will be coming a lot faster now.**

 **From George Oswald Dannyson: "I really liked that makeup scene"  
A: Me too. It was actually one of my absolute favorite things I've written for these stories yet.**

 **From Unicute17: "Jocabeth is back in business! *Screams and runs around dancing to a cheesy romantic song* I can't wait for the next chapter in your book literally make my day it's so nice to see Elizabeth going through similar problems that I do!"  
A: Any cheesy romance song in particular you were dancing too? Lol. Anyway, your wait is now over for the next chapter, and as I said before updates will be a lot faster from now on. And yeah, one of the pieces that was very intentional when I was writing these books was to have Elizabeth go through some of the same things that I and many people I know go through, such as depression and anxiety. So I'm glad that you appreciate that, because I definitely always wanted to see someone like me in stories I read.**

 **From angstyteenagetrash: "Well this was emotionally exhausting for me too lol great chapter, I loved it, glad Jocelyn and Elizabeth and back on good terms"  
A: Glad you loved it! And I'm glad you're happy to have Jocelyn and Elizabeth back on good terms. As I said in another response, that was one of my favorite scenes to write ever, so I'm glad you liked it.**

 **Another from Wolfstin: "You know, I just looked over my last review, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Just... just... try to make it make sense. Then if you can do that, then it'll be good. Though, that also didn't make a whole lot of sense..."  
A: Lol, don't worry I made sense of it.**

 **Another from EllaAnnieGrace (on chapter 3): "I was getting a feeling near the end of the interrogation scene when Marcus said "You have quite the temper, Elizabeth. It reminds me of Gaius. You two are a lot a like." That feeling was maybe, just maybe Gaius has a slight crush on Elizabeth. Either that, or some thing like MacGyver and Murdoc's Frenemyship in the new MacGyver.-Victoria"  
A: Looks like you were rereading haha. Anyway, to answer your question, Gaius is somewhat obsessed with Elizabeth and their prophecy together, but I wouldn't say he has a crush on her. He is more than ten years older than Elizabeth. As for MacGyver and Murdoc, I'm not really familiar with them. But they certainly aren't straightforward enemies, at least from Gaius's end.**

 **Another from angstyteenagetrash: "i already reviewed but i had a sudden thought in the shower like** **OMG!** **is Dan "i owe you for clearing my dad's name even though you've told me a million times i don't" I-Can't-Remember-His-Last-Name going to save her butt?"  
A: Dan's going to fulfill the debt he thinks he owes in the next book, but that's all I'll tell you about that.**

 **From Je Veux Vivre Dans Mes Reves: "I absolutely love this, you have a gift from the gods!"  
A: I'm glad you love it so much! I hope you continue to love the book and the series!**

 **Alright, that's all the reviews responded to. As always, I want to thank you guys for your continued support! You make this story happen with all the support you keep giving me! Remember, at the bottom I will be listing the dates that I'll be posting all the remaining chapters in the book, so stick around until the very bottom to get those. But that's enough from me. You're here for Elizabeth's story. So enjoy and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 15: We Storm a Beach

Theo and I hurried down to the docks, slightly worried that we'd be the last people loading up. Lucky for us, the logistics of getting almost four hundred people and heavy mech suits loaded onto boats meant that we weren't ready to leave yet anyway, so we hadn't held anyone up. Finally we made it to the end of the main dock where a smaller dock jutted out, the speed boats moored to this smaller dock. Katherine had picked out the boat at the very end. As Theo and I made our way past the other strike teams' boats, I got a view of who else would be leading strike teams. First was Alicia Hilton's boat – I remembered her as one of Tony's best friends, but I didn't know that she was leading a strike team. Next was another Roman boat. I didn't recognize this strike team leader. Following them, was Augustus's boat. He was still up on the dock, talking to a couple of his teammates.

"Elizabeth," he greeted. "You alright? Heard you and Jocelyn were having a shouting match just now."

"I'm fine," I said shortly. It was a lie of course, but it was less of a lie than it would've been a day ago. I was infinitely happier to have Jocelyn back on my side. But it certainly hadn't been easy – especially admitting that I'd died. Plus we were about to sail into a combat zone, so I was worried about that. "Jocelyn and I are back on good terms," I added to Gus. "So, you know… that's obviously a huge relief."

Augustus nodded. "Glad to hear it. Listen… good luck out there today." He glanced up at the pitch black night sky. "Er… tonight, I mean."

"You too," I said. We hugged each other quickly, our armor clanking together awkwardly. "Well… Theo and I better join the rest of our strike team."

Augustus nodded. "Good thinking. Elesa could call out the go ahead at any moment."

Theo and I strolled past. Gus turned and jumped onto his boat. "So," Theo said lowly, "you're good with Augustus again?"

"Yeah," I said. "We made up on the ship. Also uh… he knows. About… about Jocelyn."

I couldn't see Theo's face very well behind his helmet, but I thought I saw him smile slightly. "Good. I'll have someone to conspire with."

I looked at my friend sharply. "There will be no conspiring. Even if she does… feel that way about me, you _know_ why we can't… you know. Be together. Because I'm… I'm already… dead…" I trailed off quietly at the end.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't live your life," Theo whispered back.

Before I could rebut Theo's point with, _Actually, that's exactly what that means,_ We came upon the next Roman strike team boat led by… "Matt?" I asked, surprised, seeing my little brother standing on the dock, his strike team leader helmet tucked under his arm. "I… didn't know you were leading one of the strike teams."

Matt looked at me, an eyebrow raised coldly. "I wasn't aware that I owed you an explanation for everything I do. You certainly haven't extended that courtesy to me."

"Dude," Theo said reproachfully.

I sighed. "It's fine, Theo. Look, Matt… I'm sorry that things got so screwed up between us, but just… be careful out there, okay?"

Matt frowned. "Yeah… you too."

We stood awkwardly across from each other for a moment. Matt reached out his hand. I would've preferred a hug, but I could tell that a handshake was the best I was going to get right now. I felt bad. In my obsession to fix things with Jocelyn, I'd almost forgotten how upset Matt still was. I wished I'd had the opportunity to talk to him, but there hadn't been any way to talk to him face to face on the cruise ships.

I shook Matt's hand, then Theo and I continued on, Theo still shaking his head at Matt's bitterness. But honestly, I couldn't blame Matt. After all this was over I'd find a way to fix things between. _Assuming we both make it through this_ , a dark part of me thought. I pushed the thought away. The last thing I needed right now was _more_ negativity.

The last two boats on the dock belonged to James's strike team and my own. On the dock inbetween the boats, Katherine and James were apparently wrapping up an argument of their own. "Look, Kat, I'm sorry," James was saying, his Irish brogue extra pronounced.

Katherine stood across from him, her arms crossed, clearly unhappy. "I just don't get why you thought you needed to protect me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I know that," James said. "I keep telling you, that's not the reason I didn't want you on my strike team!"

"Oh please, what other explanation is there?"

James hesitated. "Look, this is gonna sound bloody stupid, but honestly… it's because I don't want to be in charge of you. You're my girlfriend, but if you were on my team… I would've been your commanding officer. And… I don't ever want to be your commanding officer. We're supposed to be equals."

Katherine seemed stunned for a moment, then she let out a clear laugh. "Gods you're an idiot," she said fondly. "As if you technically being my commanding officer would actually change anything." Before James could say anything, Katherine grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him in for a kiss. After they broke apart, she said softly, "Be careful. I love you."

"You be careful, too," he said. "Love you, too, Kat." James donned his helmet and boarded his boat.

"Using the 'L' word now, are we?" I said teasingly to Katherine.

She blushed hard. "Oh, shut up."

I snickered as we boarded our boat together. The rest of my team was all there. Most of them were crammed into the seating in the back, though Jasper and Donny stood on the fore deck. I looked over everyone, confident in my team's abilities. There was Dan, who'd opted out of a shield in order to wield both his sword and axe simultaneously. I knew how effectively he could tear monsters apart with that combination. Helen sat right next to him. Like Dan, she'd chosen not to bring a shield, no doubt to leave a hand free for spellcasting. She was double-checking the runes I'd seen her tracing on her sword back on the cruise ship. I'd never seen Helen perform in combat, but I got the feeling she was more than capable of taking care of herself and then some.

Cecelia was next, and like the previous two, she had no shield. Rather, she had a massive, double-handed blade – called a claymore, I think – propped up between her hands. The blade was at least five feet long, and at least a foot wide. I didn't know how Cecelia planned on wielding that thing, but I imagined it could do major damage to the demititans. She was chatting amiably with Hannah who I noticed, despite her prior gung ho attitude, was now bouncing her leg nervously. She had both a shield and standard sword, but I noticed her two long knives strapped to her thighs, no doubt ready to switch weapon setup at a moment's noticed. With a jolt, I remembered that Hannah and Cecelia were the same age – despite the fact that Cecelia had to be six feet tall, at least. Finally in the back was Yolanda. She carried a spear and shield. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be murmuring something to herself. Praying, most likely, I thought. I knew Yolanda's real power lay in her storm-making abilities, but I wasn't sure how much of a chance she'd get to use them today. Still, knowing that I had a team member with as much raw power as Yolanda was somewhat comforting in a weird way.

Meanwhile, up at the front, Donny and Jasper were both standing ready. Donny had gotten a new rifle at some point and I noticed two handguns holstered to his hips. Jasper, like Theo, had stuffed his quiver to the max. He had obtained a new bow – I noticed thick bowstrings looped around pulleys. A compound bow, I think it was called. Katherine took her spot at the steering wheel. She made sure her sword and shield were securely strapped to her back before donning her own helmet. Theo and I took spots in the middle of the boat.

"So when are we leaving?" Dan asked from the back.

"Once we get the go ahead from Elesa," I assured him. "But before that happens, I just want to tell all of you… I'm proud to fight alongside you guys. Truly, I am. Whether we've fought together many times or if this is our first time fighting side by side, I know that we can be successful, because I know that all of you are capable warriors. And my friends. So no matter the outcome today, I want you guys to know that you're all heroes." Dan, Katherine, Cecelia, and Donny whooped loudly. Everyone else sat up straighter, their eyes glinting. "While we're out there, stick together," I added. "Watch each other's backs and we'll pull this off. Alright?"

Everyone responded with a resounding "Yes."

At that moment, Elesa's voice came over the helmet comset. "Strike team leaders, call in."

"Alicia Hilton, standing by," came Alicia's voice.

"Sally Sparrow, standing by," came the voice of the Roman strike team leader I hadn't recognized. I couldn't help but smile. Her mortal parent must've been a Doctor Who fan, based off of her name.

"Augustus Grace, standing by," Augustus radioed in.

"Matt Jackson, standing by," my brother called in.

"James McGregor, standing by," James announced from the boat right behind us.

I raised my shielded arm to the side of my helmet and called in, "Elizabeth Jackson, standing by."

"Strike teams, you are cleared for departure," Elesa said. "Hit those siege weapons hard and fast. We're right behind you for support as soon as you take them out. Good luck and may the gods be with you."

I turned to Katherine and nodded. We pulled away from the dock. We sped alongside the other strike team boats, shooting across the dark water. The bright lights of Heart Island gleamed in the distance. The other boats split away from us. I looked to our left. Augustus saluted me as his boat pulled away off to the side. Meanwhile, we shot straight forward, making for the shore next to the Power House.

Our speedboat shot towards Heart Island at full speed. We were close enough now that I could see individual fires burning along the shores. The lights from the castle itself gleamed yellow. Right along the beach, the Power House stood at about thirty feet. At the top I could see a massive ballista, illuminated by the glow of a flaming ballista bolt. They were getting ready to fire. _Oh joy!_ I thought.

"Brace yourselves!" I shouted over the wind and the waves. "We're literally about to have fire rained down on us!"

Sure enough, no sooner had I said that than the island's weapons launched their first volley. Ballista bolts and rocks flew through the air straight for us. Katherine weaved us between the shots, the spray from the splash soaking me straight through my armor. The demititans and monsters on the island launched another volley. Again, Katherine maneuvered us between the shots, expertly weaving our boat between the projectiles. But… "Shit!" Katherine exclaimed. Just as she had weaved us around one bolt, she'd put us right in the way of another.

I dashed forward on the deck of the boat, drawing Marianas and instantly transforming it to trident mode. I twisted my arm, bracing the shaft against my forearm, and fired an energy bolt. The projectile was blasted apart. Small debris pelted us, but we were fine.

Now we were getting really close. I could make out the forms of individual monsters on the shoreline, drawing their bows. "What's our plan for landing?" Theo asked next to me.

My mind flew at five million miles an hour, trying to calculate a plan. "Got it!" I shouted. "Everyone, listen up! When I say go, dive towards the left side of the boat and into the water! Katherine, I want you to speed us up as fast as we can go! When I give the go ahead to everyone, crank the wheel as hard as you can to the left before diving overboard yourself! Clear?!"

Everyone answered in the affirmative. Katherine cranked the throttle all the way up. I sheathed my sword and ran over to the side of the boat. I dipped my hand in the water, concentrating on reading it. Arrows began to zip past my face. The monsters were firing on us. But we weren't shallow enough – not yet. If we dove overboard now my friends would drown and the boat wouldn't get enough air to hit the beach.

"We're getting pretty close boss," Donny yelled nervously.

"Just hold on a little longer," I replied.

The water was getting shallower and shallower. We were getting really close now. An arrow hit my metal arm, shattering against it. I smirked. _Nice try guys, but no such luck._ Suddenly the depth dropped off completely to three feet deep. That was definitely shallow enough. "Go!" I shouted.

Everyone leaped to the left. At the same time, Katherine cranked the wheel hard. I tumbled through the water, momentarily disoriented. When I broke the surface, I saw that my plan had actually worked quite well. The force of the sudden turn had sent the boat careening, hull first, into the monstrous forces on the beach. Meanwhile, my friends and I had landed safely in the water. Submerged up to our midsections, sure, but perfectly fine. I ran a quick headcount, making sure we had everyone. With a horrid feeling, I realized that someone was missing. "Where's Hannah?!" I shouted, my heart in my throat. But no sooner had I yelled that than her head broke the surface. I let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, while their still disoriented, charge!"

My teammates shouted and we pushed for the beach. The monsters were starting to recover from the shock of getting hit with a boat. Arrows zipped past my face. I raised my shield up in front of me as we continued to charge. Theo and Jasper fired arrows back. Donny shot his gun rapidly.

Our charge had started slowly, due to the water, but we were getting shallower and thus, faster. I was only in up to my shins now. To my right, Hannah yelled loudly and transformed into a huge rhino. She galloped past me, slamming into the enemy forces on the beach and mauling three monsters with her horn. To my left, Helen shot a pulse of blue magic from her free hand. As soon as it contacted with one of the enemy monsters, it exploded into a starburst, freezing five dracaenae.

My feet hit the stony beach. I swung my sword in a wide arc and vaporized two telkhines. I slashed apart an empousa, then whirled around and caught a spear strike against my shield. The point shattered against the bronze disc. I bashed the attacking monster on the forehead and it stumbled backwards, roaring in pain. Next to me, Katherine and Yolanda were doing a double team act against a Hyperborean giant, trampling one of the beach fires in the process. Behind us, still ankle deep in the surf, Donny, Jasper, and Theo fired away at the monsters packed along the beach like sardines.

Hannah trampled a few more of the monsters as a rhino before skidding to a stop next to Cecelia and transforming back into human form. She whipped out her sword and stabbed a monster in the gut. Cecelia swung her huge claymore around in wide circles, obliterating everything that came near her and Hannah. Similarly, Dan's twin weapons cut huge swaths through the enemy's ranks. Helen stayed close to him, slashing out with her sword and disrupting the monsters with her magic spells.

We were doing great work and all, but we still had to make our way over to the Power House so we could destroy the ballista on the roof. We weren't here just to kill monsters – we had a very specific job to do. "Form up!" I shouted to my troops.

Slowly, my disparate teammates consolidated together, forming up into a defensive circle. Theo, Jasper, and Donny stood in the middle of our circle, firing over our shoulders at the monsters. The other seven of us slashed away at the monsters. "What now?" Katherine asked me.

"We make our way over to the Power House!" I shouted. "Stay together and let's move!"

Our team made our way to the left, wading through the monsters. It was slow going. At this rate, it would take us at least an hour to get to the staircase that would give us access to the Power House. We had been pretty effective at mowing down monsters when we were all fighting separately, but we hadn't been moving any closer to the Power House. Now we were together, but we could barely move. We needed a path…

"Hannah," I said quickly. "Is there any way that you can transform into something big enough to clear us a path?"

"I can try," she panted. I got the feeling that the rhino transformation she'd done earlier had worn her out. Hopefully she wouldn't have to do too many more transformations, but in the meantime we needed her strength.

Hannah took a deep breath and then where she'd been standing there was suddenly a huge polar bear. She roared and literally tore through the enemies in our way. Helen helped out, throwing out spells that created shockwaves, blasting holes in the enemy lines. Hannah kept charging forward, her claws ripping through monsters like scythes through wheat. We charged after Hannah the polar bear, slashing at the monsters trying to close in at our flanks. But we were free to move forward. And suddenly, we found ourselves at the wall of the Power House. Hannah collapsed against the wall, turning back into human form as she did so. Yolanda and Katherine whirled around in front of her, locking their shields together. I squatted down next to Hannah on the ground.

"Thank you," I said to her. "But we've got a lot more to do. Are you okay?"

"This wasn't… this wasn't what I thought this would be like," Hannah muttered, gasping. I recognized some of the telltale signs of something I was all too familiar with – the beginnings of an anxiety attack. "The… the adventures our parents got into… they were like… exciting stories. I didn't – I didn't realize that actually living them would be so… so… terrifying."

I set down my sword and gripped her shoulder. Hannah met my eyes through our helmets. Her pupils were huge. I understood what she was feeling, I really did. I'd had countless anxiety and panic attacks the last couple years. And I understood what she meant about our parents' adventures. I'd thought the same way when I was her age. Maybe what I'd mistaken for a gung-ho attitude inherited from Mars was actually the same excitable naïveté I'd had at thirteen. I wanted to help her, I really did. But the reality was we were surrounded by enemies. The battle had only just started, and we'd surely go through more before it was all over. And my other teammates depended on me…

My train of thought was interrupted by Theo shouting, "Elizabeth, what now?!"

I snapped back into the moment. "Stairs," I shouted back. "Dan, Cecelia, help me clear the steps up to the Power House door! Yolanda, Katherine, cover our tail! Donny, Jasper, Helen, stand in the middle of the pack and help out however you can! Theo, you go in the middle, too, and help Hannah! Go!"

I scooped my sword back up, standing alongside Dan and Cecelia, and we began charging up the stairs. I smacked a dracaenae in the face, sending her right into the path of Dan's axe. Cecelia had a more difficult time managing her claymore on the staircase, but she still obliterated three monsters with every swing. Still, there were a lot of them charging down at us and it was slow moving. Up at the top of the staircase there was the bridge connecting the Power House to a path in the grassy hills of the main part of the island. And across the bridge came more backup for the monsters.

Then I had a sudden idea. I pressed the trident button and Marianas shot to its full length. Dan and Cecelia glanced sideways at me and grinded to a halt. I moved up one more step, spearing a monster on the triple points of my trident. Then I focused. Energy gathered at the tips. When I released, I did something I'd only done a handful of times before. Rather than fire individual bolts of energy, I fired a continuous beam of energy from my trident. The beam disintegrated the monsters in front of me. I swept my trident back and forth, vaporizing dozens of monsters. My trident heated up uncomfortably. The metal actually started glowing orange it was so hot. I could feel it all the way up my arm and into my chest. My stomach lurched painfully. With a yell, I shut off the beam. The stairs and bridge in front of us were devoid of monsters.

I dropped to my knees right on the stairs. My teammates rushed past me up the last few steps to the door. I felt a hand around my upper arm. I looked over. It was Theo. Hannah stood next to him, watching our backs with her sword. She seemed to have recovered from her anxiety attack and was fighting with renewed vigor. She had recovered quickly – far more quickly than I had anticipated. If she could recover quickly, so could I. Theo hoisted me to my feet. Right as he did so, a voice came over the radio, "Matt Jackson reporting in. Target destroyed."

"Roger that, Matt," came Tony's voice. "Section four is clear. Ferry twelve and ferry eleven, you are clear to move in. Matt, head for your rendezvous point."

"Ten four," Matt's voice responded.

So Matt was okay. That was a relief. More than that, he'd taken out his target. But I didn't have time to dwell on it longer. There was work to be done. The three of us ran up the remaining steps, joining everyone else at the door to the Power House. "Break it down!" I ordered.

Helen, closest to the door, thrust out her hand, shattering the wooden door with her magic. Dan and Cecelia were the first inside. I followed them quickly inside. Inside the door, there was a wooden landing. There were stairs leading up and down. There were a lot fewer monsters inside. I glanced over my shoulder and saw more reinforcements crossing the bridge. "Hannah, Yolanda, Katherine, cover the door!" I shouted. Meanwhile, I turned and followed Dan and Cecelia up the staircase. I stabbed an empousa on the right, slashed apart a telkhine on the left, and then kicked an unfamiliar monster whose face was on its chest so hard that it toppled over the banister and slammed down onto the antique power equipment on display in the basement, bursting apart. "That's gonna leave a mark," I muttered to myself.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold this door, Elizabeth!" Katherine shouted from the door.

I looked behind me to see waves of monsters slamming into Katherine, Yolanda, and Hannah's shields. Jasper, Theo, and Donny were picking them off one by one from behind their shoulders, but there were way too many. We needed a better way to block the door before my friends were overwhelmed. I looked back over the banister where I'd kicked that chest-face monster. The antique equipment…

"Helen, where are you?" I called out.

The daughter of Hecate practically materialized at my shoulder and beheaded a monster I hadn't even seen sneaking up on me. "What can I do for you, Elizabeth?"

"Any chance you can use your magic to move some of that heavy antique equipment in front of the door?" I asked. "Block the monsters coming across the bridge?"

"Consider it done," she said. "Just get ready to have that lot move." She pointed at our teammates standing at the door. Then she leaped over the banister, landed with a roll, and proceeded to hack away at the bolts holding one of the pieces of equipment to the floor.

I turned and joined the gang at the door. As I did, James called in with the news that he'd destroyed his target. Almost immediately Alicia reported in as well. Half of the siege weapon targets had been taken out. I ignored the radio chatter, though, and said, "Guys, in just a moment, Helen's going to block the door with a big piece of construction equipment. Get ready to move out of the way."

They grunted their understanding. But at that moment, a laistrygonian giant appeared at the opposite end of the bridge, hefting a flaming cannonball. My teammates' shields would not be able to block that explosive. "Theo," I said nervously.

"I see him," he said, taking careful aim between Hannah and Yolanda's shoulders. He let loose, hitting the giant right before he fired his shot. The flaming cannonball fell to the ground, exploding and killing a dozen smaller monsters.

Just then, Helen appeared, levitating a giant metal generator behind her. Her face was red – clearly levitating something that heavy was difficult. "Out of the way," I ordered the others.

Jasper and Theo each nocked three arrows and took out the rest of the monsters right at the door. All of us shuffled backwards quickly. With a yell, Helen dropped the generator in front of the doorframe right as a bunch of monsters reached the door. They slammed into it.

"That should hold them for a few minutes," Helen panted.

"Great work," I said. "Let's get up to the roof and take out that ballista."

We all turned and dashed up the stairs. At the very top, Dan and Cecelia were trading blows with a pair of demititans, the first ones we'd directly come up against tonight. But the fight ended almost as soon as we caught up with them. Dan slammed the hilt of his sword hard over his opponent's helmet, then kicked him back into the stone wall behind him. Cecelia smacked the flat of her claymore into her own opponent's head. The person toppled sideways, out cold.

"Power House interior is cleared out," Dan said, turning to me. "But _that's_ the only way to the roof." He pointed upwards as he spoke, indicating a hatch in the ceiling. The demititans pulled up the ladder and shut it when they saw me and Cecelia coming. They're probably waiting up there with bows at the ready. What do we do?"

I thought about it for a moment. The adrenaline coursing through my veins was so intense it actually made it hard for me to think. But I did come up with something. "Alright, here's what we do. Helen, can you blast open that hatch like you did the door before?"

"Easily enough, yes," she said.

"Excellent. Theo, Jasper, Donny, get ready to shoot any demititans at the top of the hatch who might be trying to fire at us."

"Of course," Theo said, nocking an arrow.

Donny reloaded his rifle. "All set."

"Me too," Jasper added, nocking an arrow of his own.

"Great," I said. "Lastly, Hannah… what can you transform into that could throw, say… me up through that hatch?"

Hannah looked alarmed that I was volunteering myself as a projectile. Nevertheless, she said, "I can do a silverback gorilla."

"Perfect!" I exclaimed. "When I say so, throw me up and through the hatch." Hannah was replaced by a nervous looking silverback gorilla. I turned to Helen. "Now."

She thrust out her hand, blasting open the hatch. Demititans fired arrows down at us, all of them missing, but definitely making it impossible to safely get up top. Theo, Jasper, and Donny fired back, hitting their marks. There were grunts of pain from above and arrows stopped firing down at us, even if only for a second. "Hannah, go!"

She grabbed me by the back of my armor, then tossed me straight up through the hole. Weightlessness overtook me for a second as I spun through the air up through the hole. Then I clattered to the roof of the Power House with a bang. I instantly threw up my shield just in time to catch a sword strike. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the ladder the demititans had pulled up earlier laying on the stone floor. I kicked out, knocking the ladder through the now open hatch and to my friends below. Then I set to work incapacitating the demititan team on the roof.

I got to my feet, whirling around. My shield bashed hard into the demititans' swords, sending them flying out of their hands. I parried blow after blow, using each opening to bash the demititans over the head. My opponents were halfway decent, but after my training with Rhea they didn't stand a chance. I whirled through their ranks disarming them and knocking them unconscious one by one. The remaining demititans on the roof formed ranks in front of the ballista, trying to block me. I smirked and charged forward. At that very moment, Katherine and Yolanda appeared next to me. Together, the three of us slammed into the demititans. As we fought, Sally Sparrow (whose name still made me smile) called in to inform us that her targets had been taken out. The rest of our team joined us. In a matter of moments, the demititan squad was out cold.

I let out a satisfied sigh. "Nice work everyone. Okay, who knows how to operate a giant ballista?"

"I got it," Donny announced. He set down his rifle and climbed into the shooter's position. I went to the edge of the roof and looked towards Boldt Castle proper. In front of the side facing us, raised up above the surrounding terrain, was a garden. In one corner of the garden was a tall tower that, if memory served me right, was an aviary of some sort. In the other corner, closer to us, was a huge catapult. The demititans controlling it saw us taking aim at them and scattered.

"Donny, you may fire when ready," I ordered. Donny pulled the lever and a giant flaming bolt shot out of the ballista. It arced through the air and exploded against the catapult in the garden. The catapult was blasted apart, sending debris flying everywhere. My team cheered. I smiled. So far, so good. "Alright, let's sabotage this thing," I said, turning back to my teammates.

I swung my sword through a system of pulleys on the side of the ballista. One of the loose ends whipped past my face, almost knocking off my helmet. Everyone else proceeded to do the same, hacking apart the pulleys and other various parts that made the weapon work. When we were done, I activated my comlink and reported in.

"This is Elizabeth Jackson," I said. "The Power House and garden siege weapons are down and out."

"Roger that Elizabeth," Elesa responded over the coms. "Section one is now clear. Boats one and two, you are cleared for landing. Elizabeth, head for your rendezvous point."

"Copy that," I said. Returning my attention to my team, I said, "Alright everyone, good work so far. But we aren't done yet. You heard Elesa. Our next goal is the rendezvous point. So let's get to it!"

"Elizabeth, look," Theo said, pointing. Down on the beach, one of the ferries had pulled right up on the rocky shore. The front split right open and a ten foot tall mech suit stepped out. It swung its huge sword, killing a huge group of monsters with a single swing. Behind the mech suit, a couple dozen campers emerged from the ferry and formed up in a phalanx. They moved forward, tearing into the enemy forces. We were doing well so far. At this rate, we'd take the island before dawn.

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 **AN: Alright, so here's the plan guys. Chapter 16 will go up on Wednesday, June 7th; Chapter 17 Saturday, June 10th; Chapter 18 Monday, June 12th; Chapter 19 Tuesday, June 13th; Chapter 20 Thursday, June 15th; and the final chapter, Chapter 21, will go up Sunday, June 18th.**

 **So that's the plan moving forward for the rest of the book. As always, a day or two after I upload the last chapter I'll upload a note with some teasers about book 5 and my plan moving forward.**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you on Wednesday.**


	17. Chapter 16: We Make a Mad Dash

**AN: Hello everyone! As promised, I am back with the next chapter. I want to thank everyone for their support. As always, let's do review responses and then we'll get right into it.**

 **First, from EllaAnnieGrace: "** **THANK THE GODS YOU'VE UPDATED! At the rate you were going you were never going to finish it, now seeing that you plan to be finished it two months before Percy's B-day, is just awesome. And yes I did reread. What can I say? I was bored.-Victoria"  
A: I'm happy you're glad to have me back. And I actually think it's really awesome that you reread. Honestly, it's a really high compliment as far as I'm concerned. So thank you!**

 **Next from Wolfstin: "I actually am really enjoying this series. You know that moment when you get into the roller coaster (I'm pretty sure that's one word, but I don't really care at this point with spelling), and the people controlling the ride say things like, "Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times," but you're just so excited and your brain's like, "AHHHH! THIS IS SO COOL! AHHAHAHAHA!" Then you start laughing before the ride even starts? Well, that's how I felt when I started reading this chapter. I don't know if that's the intended effect or not, but if it is, it's working. I was also listening to the best song for this chapter the whole time and it was amazing. But anyways, should I emotionally prepare myself for deaths for the rest of the book, because that's what I might do anyways, but I just want a heads up, saying, "Yes. Do that right now." Or, possibly, "You're probably fine..." I wish you luck in keeping up updating. Also, last thing I promise, is the fifth book going to come out in July, August, or December or something, or at least when do you hope it comes out?"  
A: I'm glad you're enjoying the series so much. I'm not sure I intended the exact effect you describe feeling when you read the last chapter, but I did want to make the last chapter sort of fun to read. I really enjoy writing action sequences, so it was fun to write, anyway. As for deaths in the rest of the book... well I can't exactly tell you that, can I? Spoilers and all. All I will say, is that there will be emotional scenes coming up between now and the end of the book, so prepare yourself for that. Finally, in regards to book 5, I'll be sharing my exact plan for book 5 after I finish this book. What I'll say for now is that I'll be taking a longer hiatus between books than I've usually taken, because I really want to get back to regular uploads (which I wasn't able to do for most of this book). Thus, I hope by taking a longer break between books, I can get farther ahead so that I can manage the regular updates with my school work.**

 **Alright, those are the only reviews I've gotten on this story since Monday - not surprising seeing as the chapter's only been out a couple of days (and it was uploaded super late Monday night). So we'll go ahead and jump right into the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. DFTBA!**

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Chapter 16: We Make a Mad Dash Through Boldt Castle

We made it back downstairs to the door Helen had blocked in a matter of seconds. "Alright guys," I said. "Remember, we're headed for the tunnel that connects to the foundation level of the castle. As the main part of our forces are starting to land, the monsters will probably be more focused on them, so we should have a relatively clear path, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect resistance. Once we make it to the foundation, we've got to hold it until Elesa and the rest of our forces show up. Clear?" My team nodded.

I turned to Helen. "If you'd do the honors?"

Helen cracked her knuckles. She stepped forward, tapped the metal generator once, then thrust out her hand. The generator blasted through the doorway at high speed and, from the sounds of it, squished several monsters all at once. We burst through the now open doorway and onto the bridge. As I'd expected, most of the monsters had run down to the beach to engage the phalanxes now landing. "We should help them out," Hannah said, sounding concerned.

I frowned. Used to be I would've agreed. But now… "We'll be helping them by securing the rendezvous point," I said. "We have our orders. Elesa wants us in the foundation, so that's where we're going. Besides, they can take care of themselves."

As I said that, the mech suit stepped forward and completely obliterated a half dozen monsters with one swipe. A Hyperborean charged down the beach. The mech suit engaged it directly. The monster tried to punch the suit, but it dodged the attack and stabbed the Hyperborean straight through the gut, killing it.

Meanwhile, my team had dashed across the bridge. We bolted down the staircase at the other end, turned quickly to the left, then ducked through an archway into the tunnel to the foundation. On our left, archways continued to look out over the lawns and beaches of Heart Island. We could continue to watch the battle unfold as we ran down the hallway. As I watched, our phalanx kept moving forward, continuing to be supported by the mech suit accompanying them. Suddenly, while I watched, a giant flaming rock plummeted out of the air at their feet, killing about a dozen monsters. The members of the phalanx screamed as they were thrown into the air like ragdolls. The mech suit was knocked backwards, though it was still in one piece.

"Dios immortales," Theo cursed next to me. "What was that?"

"I'm guessing one of the siege weapons on top of the castle proper," I said. "Drake must've given them the order to fire on our forces."

"And take out his own monsters?" Donny asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know that he really cares too much about that. But gods, I really hope Gus is able to take those things out from his target. If not, those could cause a major problem."

"Can we please go help them now?" Hannah asked.

I really wanted to say yes, but we still had orders to follow. Plus, if Gus wasn't able to take out those weapon placements from where he was, we needed to be in the foundation so that we could move through the castle and take them out ourselves. Strictly speaking not in our orders, but we couldn't win with ballistae and catapults disrupting our forces' every move across the island.

"We've got our own problem to worry about," Helen said before I could think up an answer. I refocused my attention on the direction we were running in. A phalanx of dracaena had formed up in front of us, hissing menacingly. We readied our weapons, charging forward. Just before we made contact, Hannah transformed into a rhino for the second time that night and charged straight into the phalanx. She broke through their shield wall, sending the dracaena flying and vaporizing several on the spot. The rest of us mopped up the remnants, making quick work of them with our swords. Several feet ahead of us, Hannah had transformed back into a human, crouched and panting with exhaustion. I skidded to a stop next to her.

"Take it easy, okay?" I said.

Hannah nodded, still panting, and climbed to her feet. The archways on the left were gone now, replaced by solid wall, so we couldn't see outside anymore. "I'm worried about everyone out there," she said.

I sighed. "I know. But we have to keep moving. If we secure the foundation – or reinforce whoever is already there if James's team beat us to it – then we'll have at least secured a spot for us to treat our wounded. And we're gonna need a place like that after what we just saw. Now come on, let's keep moving." Hannah didn't look super pleased, but she nodded. We kept moving.

It only took us a few seconds to reach the end of the hallway and burst into the foundation area. As soon as we did, I found a sword at my throat. I was about to swing up my own sword and engage my new opponent. Before I could, a familiar Irish brogue shouted, "Stand down! It's Elizabeth and her strike team."

The person who'd raised her sword at me lowered her weapon. She yanked off her helmet, revealing a shock of blue hair. Trisha, James's sister. "Sorry about that," she said to me frowning.

"It's fine," I said brusquely. I looked beyond her, taking in the area. The person who'd spoken up, ordering Trisha to stand down was obviously James. He stood in the center of the room, looking over towards me. His blue horsehair Mohawk had been shorn halfway off, likely by an enemy's sword. His strike team had taken over the foundation level, which was a plain stone room. On our left, a set of archways went into a small area with an empty basin that had, at one point, surely been some kind of pool. A pair of archways beyond that went straight outside. James had stationed the bulk of his troops over there, keeping monsters out. In the main part of the room, James had stationed his sister and one of his other soldiers by the hallway that we had come out of. There was a huge staircase that led upstairs, accessing the main castle. Strangely, James hadn't stationed anyone there.

Katherine rushed past me and ran straight over to James, embracing him. The rest of my forces spread out, taking defensive positions all around the room. I strode over to James, clearing my throat awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt, but uh… what's the situation, James?"

"Oh, right, sorry," James said quickly, separating from his girlfriend. "We got here a few minutes ago. As soon as we arrived, some demititans shut the door to the main part of the castle and barred it somehow." He gestured over his shoulder at the staircase leading upstairs. "A few stayed down here to try and stop us, but we made relatively quick work of them." He pointed over to the corner where several demititans sat bound and unconscious. "Had my team take up defensive positions around the room."

I glanced around, running a quick head count. "More than your team is here," I noted.

James nodded. "A few stragglers from a couple of our phalanxes have come in. So far no one with any major injuries, but… well they're getting hit pretty bad by those weapons up on the rooftop. I'm not sure how the commanders expect everyone to make it to the rendezvous points with those weapons disrupting our every move."

"I was thinking the same thing," I agreed. "Hopefully Augustus can take them out from his position, but if not… I think we need a backup plan."

"Yeah, I agree," he said. "But we'll still need clearance from Elesa, won't we?"

I sighed. He was right, of course, but I didn't think Elesa was likely to be cool with that. "Well, let's wait for Augustus to report in before we do anything else. But… you know… be ready in case we need to enter the Castle early."

James nodded. I turned away, deciding to let him and Katherine have a moment. Instead, I went over by one of the archways peering outside, standing next to Theo. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye while he sniped monsters from a distance. The monsters didn't really seem to be attacking. Rather, they seemed more interested in taking cover from the siege weapons firing down like crazy. "Those weapons are a problem," he noted.

"That's an understatement," I said. "Get ready. I have the feeling that we're going to need to enter the main castle to take those things out."

No sooner had I said that than Augustus called in. "Augustus to Elesa."

"Go ahead," came Elesa's voice.

"I've got control of the ballista on top of the Alster Tower, but I can't get a good shot at the siege weapons on the roof. Please advise."

There was silence on the line for a moment, then Elesa said, "Destroy your ballista anyway so that we can land the last of our reinforcements, then make your way to your rendezvous point."

I tuned out Augustus's response. "Well that does it. We're gonna have to take out those weapons ourselves."

"How?" Theo asked, firing five arrows in rapid succession. "We'd have to fight our way through the entire castle, all the way up to the top. We don't have the numbers for that, do we?"

I looked around the room. Altogether, there were about twenty-five of us. "Maybe, maybe not…" I said thoughtfully. "I would like to get some more people first, though."

"Well it looks like you'll have your wish," Theo said.

I looked out across the lawn. A whole phalanx of our troops had broken formation and was sprinting towards us as fast as possible. At the lead was a soldier with a golden horsehair Mohawk. That had to be Elesa. And with them, of course, was a mech suit. But then, out of nowhere, a huge flaming boulder slammed into the ground right at the mech suit's feet and exploded. The soldiers went flying everywhere. The mech suit collapsed into a small crater created by the explosion. I gaped. "That… that had to be Elesa's group," I stammered.

Theo gulped. "Jocelyn… she was in that mech suit. She told me that she was with Elesa's phalanx."

Panic surged through my veins. Jocelyn could be… she could be…

"Theo, Jasper, Dan, Hannah, with me NOW!" I shouted, dashing out back into the battle. I went right past all the injured troops on the ground, moaning in pain, and jumped into the crater that the mech suit had collapsed in. The metal legs were at the top of the crater. The main body itself was still upright at the very center of it.

I dropped my sword on the ground and climbed up the outside of the suit so that I was level with the viewhole. I was so relieved I almost sobbed. Because yes, Jocelyn was still inside, but she was alright. Her eyes were open and alert. In fact, she seemed quite surprised to see me. "Can you hear me?" I shouted through the glass.

"Yeah," Jocelyn shouted back, her voice muffled by the glass. "Suit's dead. Blast took it out completely. I have no power. Coms are dead, release clamp doesn't work – nothing."

Before I could respond, Dan called from behind me. "What are you orders, boss?"

I glanced behind me over my shoulder. "Theo and Jasper taking care of the injured?"

He nodded. "And Hannah's helping take them to cover as… some kind of large animal."

"Is Elesa…?"

"She's alive," Dan said. "But she's out cold. And her head was bleeding."

I frowned. That couldn't be good… "Alright, Dan, go stand up at the top of the crater and cover me while I get Jocelyn out of here." He nodded and ran back up to the top. I turned back around to face Jocelyn through the glass. "Is there any way to open this thing up without power?"

"There's an emergency release clamp in a hatch under the right arm," she answered. "If you can – look out!"

I spun around. One of the belly-faced monsters had made it past Dan to the bottom of the crater as was running right towards me, a metal club raised high. My sword was still on the ground at the bottom of the mech suit. No time to scoop it up. I kicked off the front of the mech suit, whirling around and swinging my shield. I bashed the monster across the chest, making it stumbled slightly. I ducked as it swung its club at me. I swept out my legs, knocking the monster over, then punched it so hard with my celestial bronze fist that the monster burst into dust.

"Sorry," Dan called from the top.

"It's fine, just buy me more time," I called back. Then I turned back to Jocelyn. "Alright, hang tight! I'm gonna get you out of this thing!" I strode back towards the mech suit, over to its right arm. I was gonna need both hands free for this – one arm to hold onto the suit, the other to pull the release clamp. I quickly undid the straps on my shield and set it on the ground next to my sword. Then I climbed up the suit underneath the right arm. Sure enough, there was a hatch. I pulled it open with one hand, holding myself up with the other. Inside the hatch, there was a lever. With a pull, the front of the mech suit hissed and split open.

I ran back around to the front. Jocelyn was undoing her harness. "Thanks, Elizabeth," she said. She threw the harness straps aside, and went to climb out, which is when we hit our next snag. She yelped in pain, cursing.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked urgently.

"My right leg is stuck," she said, her face red. "Caught in some twisted metal in what's left of the suit's leg."

I stepped back up onto the metal and climbed into the front of the cockpit area, putting me inches away from Jocelyn. I could feel her breath on my face. My whole body tingled. _Focus Jackson!_ I scolded myself. "Alright uh… here's the plan," I said. "Give me your hands. On the count of three, I'll pull you hard, you try and pull yourself free. Sound like a plan?"

"Right, let's get this over with," she muttered, stealing herself. We both knew this would hurt her like Hades, but it wasn't like we had another option at this point.

I grabbed hold of her outstretched hands, doing my best to ignore the jolt of electricity that shot up my arms and straight into my spine. "Okay. One. Two. Three!"

I pulled back as hard as I could, using my feet as leverage. Jocelyn screamed in pain as we yanked. I almost let go to save her the pain. But then –

Suddenly we were falling backwards. I landed hard on my back, the wind knocked out of me. Jocelyn landed right on top of me. Our faces mere centimeters apart. It's like in all the movies when the hero saves the girl and she accidentally falls on top of him and you get that moment of intense romantic and sexual tension… Yeah, it was exactly like that, except… you know, a lot gayer than it typically is in the movies.

At any rate, I said a silent prayer of thanks that I was wearing my helmet to hide the fact that my face had probably just gone beet red. Jocelyn cleared her throat. "Uh, thanks." She rolled off me roughly, then sat up after a moment.

"You alright?" I asked, sitting up myself.

Jocelyn nodded, her face still red, no doubt from the pain of yanking her foot out of there. "Yeah, thanks Lizzie. I appreciate the assist." She went to stand up, yelled in agony, and fell right back to the ground. "Alright, might need a little more assistance. Doesn't look like my ankle will support my weight."

"Well, we've got to get you back to the foundation area so Theo can take a look at it," I said. "We've been lucky so far, but the longer we stay out here, the more likely we are to… you know… get killed horribly."

I stood up and went around to where I'd set down my shield and sword. I passed my shield over to Jocelyn. "Strap this to your left arm," I instructed her. She did as I said. I could see in her eyes that she knew what I was thinking. She quickly wrapped the straps around her arm. I bent down on her right side. She threw her right arm over my shoulders. I grabbed onto her belt with my left hand (trying to ignore how close my hand was to her… you know…). With a great hoisting and more grunts of pain from Jocelyn, we clambered to our feet.

I gripped my sword in my right hand and together we made our way slowly up to the top of the crater. Dan glanced at me as we got to the top. At some point, he seemed to have lost his helmet. His platinum blond hair was sticking up all over the place. "Hey guys," he said, whirling around and decapitating a dracaena as he spoke. "Good to see you out of the suit, Jocelyn."

"Let's get back under cover," I said gruffly. "And then we can all congratulate each other on a job well done. Did Theo, Jasper, and Hannah get everyone else to cover?"

"Yeah," Dan said. "I'll cover you guys. Come on."

Together, we made our way back to the castle proper. Jocelyn and I were slow moving, seeing as I was basically supporting all of her weight. Dan slashed apart every monster that dared to get close. A couple of times, Jocelyn blocked incoming arrows with my shield. Meanwhile, I kept overhearing more radio chatter – units reporting in that they were pinned down by fire from the weapons on the roof. "We've got to take those damn things out," I muttered. "We're gonna lose if we don't do something about them."

"I agree," said Jocelyn. "And it sounds like Elesa's hurt pretty bad. We may have to take matters into our own hands."

I chuckled slightly. "Careful, you're starting to sound like me."

Finally we made it back to cover. Theo ran out to meet us and together we carried Jocelyn into the room. It was starting to get packed with people, most of them the injured members of Elesa's phalanx. Jasper and a couple of the Apollo campers that had been part of James's team were running around, providing impromptu first aid. Theo and I carried Jocelyn over to the wall and set her down carefully. She undid the straps of the shield and handed it back to me while Theo worked to get her boot off. When he did get it off, what I saw wasn't a pretty sight. Jocelyn's foot was swollen and a nasty purple color.

Theo shoved a hunk of ambrosia into Jocelyn's mouth. "There you go," he said. "The swelling and pain should go down in a moment." Next, he pulled out a brace and some gauze. He did it up around her ankle. "As soon as the pain fades, pull your boot back on and lace it up tight. That'll hold everything in place until I can do a more thorough examination later. In the meantime, you should be fine to move around. Fight even, if you feel up to it."

Jocelyn nodded. "Right. Any chance we've got some spare armor and weapons lying around here?"

"I could probably grab a chest plate and sword off of our captives," Theo said thoughtfully.

"You're not seriously planning on going back into combat," I said incredulously. "After getting injured? You need to take it easy, Joce."

Jocelyn scoffed. "Theo said I'd be in good enough shape to fight. And you may be extra badass now, but that doesn't mean you don't need me to watch your back."

I sighed. There was no swaying her, I could tell already. "Fine. Whatever. Elesa?"

Theo seemed confused for a moment, but then he caught up with what I was saying. "She's not great. She's got a pretty bad concussion. But she's conscious again."

"Right," I said. "I'm gonna talk to her quick. Hold tight guys. And uh… get ready, I guess."

I worked my way through the ranks of Elesa's injured phalanx until I found the commander herself. She'd taken her helmet off. Sure enough, her short hair was matted with dried blood. Her pupils were different sizes, which couldn't be good. I knelt in front of her. "Elesa, you okay?" I asked.

Her eyes found me, but she was clearly having a hard time focusing. "Elizabeth," she croaked. "Good to see you're still alive."

"You too," I said. "But look, we're getting overwhelmed. We're going to lose. Unless –"

"Unless we take out those weapons on the roof," Elesa finished. "But… you'd have to fight your way all the way through the castle to get there. I mean… the logical access point to the roof is from the open balcony on the fourth floor. That's a lot of castle to fight through. We… we don't have the numbers here."

"And we'll never get the numbers here if we don't take out those weapons," I said. "look, I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I think it's possible so long as we move quick. Instead of focusing on every little monster, we'll focus on moving forward. If we can get up to the roof, that's the hard part done."

Elesa nodded. "Okay. Try it. Good luck, Elizabeth."

At that moment, Jasper came over with bandages to do around Elesa's head. I strode away. I motioned to Theo and Jocelyn, who stood up and made their way towards me. We met at the foot of the staircase leading up to the first floor. "What's the plan, Lizzie?" Jocelyn asked.

"Elesa gave me the go ahead," I said quietly. "We're going to make a run for it. I count… a little over thirty people in fighting shape. We'll have to leave a couple people behind to be medics and to guard the foundation if more people show up, but that still gives us quite a few people to work with. So long as we move quickly, the monsters upstairs won't know what's hitting them."

Jocelyn nodded. "Sounds like a plan. We got this in the bag."

Theo shifted his weight nervously. "I wish I had your confidence. But I'm with you. As always."

I smiled at my friends. "Then let's do this." I turned and strode up several steps so that I was looking out over the whole room. "Alright everyone, listen up!" I shouted. Slowly, everyone in the room turned to look at me. I had a brief flashback to the first time I addressed a large crowd of people – the whole camp back when I was thirteen, right before my first quest. I had been uncomfortable with the attention on me then. I still kinda was. But I'd gotten more confident. And I'd definitely gotten better at faking confidence.

"We're in trouble," I said to the whole room. "The siege weapons on the roof are keeping us scattered and divided. Many of you were just injured by one of those weapons. We have _got_ to take those weapons out. So here's what's going to happen. Jasper, you and a couple other of the medics stay behind and tend to the wounded. Hannah, Cecelia, Yolanda, Donny, you guys are also gonna stay here and guard the room in case more people show up. Jasper is in charge. Everybody else who is in fighting shape, we're going through these doors behind me at the top of the stairs. We are going to fight our way through the castle up to the fourth floor, where the access point for the rooftop weapons is no doubt located. We move quickly. Our main objective here is to keep moving forward. Only kill the monsters that get directly in your way. We stay together, we move fast, and we destroy those siege weapons. We salvage this operation and save everyone's skins. Is everybody clear?!" People all around the room muttered their assent, hoisting their weapons, looking determined. "Alright then, form up! Helen, I want you up here to blast the doors open on my mark."

With a great deal of shuffling, thirty demigods packed onto the staircase. At the very front, there were myself, Jocelyn, wielding a sword stolen from a demititan, and Theo. Helen stood by, ready to blast open the door. I looked around at our troops. Everyone was about as ready as they were going to get. I could tell by the way everyone shifted on their feet that they were full of adrenaline and nerves. So was I. "I'm ready when you are, Elizabeth," Helen said quietly to me.

I tightened my grip on my sword. "Ready."

Helen blasted open the doors.

* * *

I'd never ridden a bucking bull before, but I imagined it felt something like dashing through Boldt Castle. The troops I were leading slashed out at monsters on our left and right. We ran forward, dashing around a corner, down a short hall, and into the great hall. Filling up the center of the room was a huge marble staircase leading up to the second floor. Two rings of balconies appeared above us. Up in the ceiling above the third floor was a beautiful stained glass dome. Archers fired down on us from the upper levels. I threw up my shield. Arrows shattered against it.

We hit the staircase hard, several of my troops leaping straight over the banister. We charged upwards, bashing monsters out of our way. At the top of the staircase, it split in two directions to the right and the left. "To the right," Jocelyn said. "The staircase to the third and fourth floors is right over there." She pointed to a nearby staircase right off of the hall overlooking the first floor.

I steered our troops up the right side of the staircase. Another belly-faced monster charged at us. I stepped inside its strike, then kicked it hard over the banister. "Damn," Jocelyn said. "Your legs must be strong as Hercules. Those blemmyae are heavy as hell."

"That's what they're called?" I asked. "I've just been thinking of them as belly-face monsters."

"Well, you ain't wrong," Jocelyn said.

We hit the staircase to the third floor hard. Monsters charged down straight for us. I switched to trident mode, running them through as we hurried up this much narrower staircase. We hit the landing of the third floor, but we didn't stop to really examine our new surroundings. Instead, we immediately turned and dashed up the staircase to the fourth floor. When we made it up to the fourth floor, I was instantly struck by two things. Firstly, unlike the previous two floors, which had had open centers looking down on the great hall, the main room on the fourth floor had the top of the stained glass dome filling the center. The other thing I noticed was how few monsters there were up here. It took only a few moments for us to kill them. I guessed they'd all run downstairs to meet us.

We dashed around the outside of the glass dome, through a short room, and out onto a wide balcony. Two demititan guards whirled around in surprise to meet us. "What – how did you get up here?" one of them asked.

Rather than answer, I thrust out my trident, catching one of their spears between the points, and twisted, splintering the weapon. Katherine had dashed forward next to me and quickly disarmed the other guard. They were smart enough to know when to quit. They held up their hands. "Someone tie them up," I said. "The rest of you, come on."

Two of Jocelyn's siblings ran forward with rope and bound up our two newest prisoners. Meanwhile, I turned slightly. Two ladders had been attached to the wall of the castle. Ladders that led up to the roof. We hurried up the ladders. The rooftop had been heavily modified. Wooden walkways and platforms covered the area, turning the sharp gables of the rooftop into a wide, flat area. A wide, flat area with two catapults and a ballista.

"Katherine, take ten to that one," I ordered, pointing. "Jocelyn, ten to that one. The rest of you, with me."

We split up, running towards each of the weapons. I leaped up onto one of the weapons platforms. The demititan crew running it launched into action, charging forward to meet me, their weapons drawn. I slid under one sword strike, then whirled to my feet, knocking the guy hard with my shield. I clashed blades three times with the next guy before handily disarming him. The rest of my team made quick work of the other demititans. Dan took out three on his own. Helen put two into a deep sleep. James, who was in my group, dashed over to the weapon itself and began hacking away at the pulleys that made it work.

"This one's down," he said after a moment.

I looked over towards the other weapons. "We're good!" shouted Katherine.

"Us, too!" Jocelyn called from hers.

I grinned. I raised my shielded arm up to my helmet, activating the comlink. "This is Elizabeth Jackson. The castle's rooftop is clear. All siege weapons have been disabled."

"Thank the gods," came Spencer's voice. "All teams, move forward!"

I waved to my team. Everyone gathered in the center of the rooftop. "Alright listen up," I said. "We're going back into the fray. We go back into the castle. We take out as many monsters as we can. Soon, we'll win this battle!" Everyone cheered. "Okay, let's move."

"Actually, Elizabeth," Jocelyn said quickly. "Can me, you, and Theo check on something real quick first?"

I glanced at her, confused, but said nonetheless, "Alright. Katherine, James, you two take everyone else down below and kill those monsters. Theo, Jocelyn, and I will join you soon enough."

Katherine and James led the way. After the team had disappeared down the ladder back to the fourth floor, I asked, "Okay, what's going on Joce?"

"Well, I was thinking about… well about your family," Jocelyn said. "If… if they're being kept here, they're probably up in the loft. Worth checking, right?"

I frowned. Based off my visions, and despite what Rhea had said, I seriously doubted that my family was here. I wondered if she'd lied to me to get me to go back to Camp Half-Blood. I wondered if I'd ever see them again. What had happened to me? A month ago, I would've grasped at any straw, no matter how unlikely, to try and find them. I _had_ grasped at any straw. But now… Well now I just felt hopeless about the whole situation.

"It's worth a shot at least, right?" Theo asked.

Finally, I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. How do we get up into the loft?"

"Gotta go back inside first," Jocelyn said.

We climbed back down, went inside, and hurried over to a staircase that Jocelyn pointed out. It was a narrow one. We ran up it, meeting no resistance. At the top, a single demititan stood guard in front of a plain wooden door. He looked surprised to see us. Before he could so much as draw his weapon, Jocelyn had run forward, bashed him hard over the head with her borrowed weapon, and sent him tumbling down the stairs, his armor ringing loudly as he bounced off each step.

I stood in front of the door, sweat trickling down the back of my neck. My parents… they weren't here. They couldn't be here. But… what if they were? What would I do? How could I get them safely out of here in the middle of a warzone? _First thing's first_ , I thought. _Open the door._

And so I did. I pushed hard on the wooden door. It swung open with ease, revealing a small room filled with nothing but computer monitors displaying footage from cameras all around the castle. It felt as if a balloon was deflating inside my chest. I went over to the wall and sat down hard, pulling off my helmet as I did so. My parents weren't here, just as I'd thought. So then why was I so disappointed? "Where are you?" I asked quietly. I didn't feel angry anymore. Or at least, anger wasn't the main emotion I was feeling. And I didn't feel any of the telltale signs of a panic attack. I just felt… defeated. I felt like I'd never see them again.

Jocelyn came over and sat next to me, tentatively placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"I figured they wouldn't be here," I said lowly. "But… where are they? And are they… are they even still alive?"

"I don't know," Jocelyn said softly. "But we're going to get answers. After this battle, we – the three of us – we're going to get the answers. Even if we have to run off to do that."

"You sure that's not a stupid and reckless thing to do?" I asked.

Jocelyn shrugged. "Maybe. But this is different from before. Unlike last time, when you ran off alone, you'll have me watching your back. Theo, too. And as I told you earlier, when the three of us set our minds to something, we can't be stopped. We'll save them. I know it."

I wished I could share her optimism, I really did. But so much had happened the last few years and I'd lost so much that I wasn't sure I could ever truly be optimistic again…

"Guys," Theo said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but… Drake's come out of his hiding." I looked up at Theo sharply, who was listening intently to his helmet coms. "He's down in the garden," Theo informed me. "He just came out of the aviary tower. He's engaged… He's engaged Tony and Sierra."

I leaped quickly to my feet, adrenaline shooting through my every vein and artery. Images of Thalia flashed through my head. I thought of Alex de Marco, still imprisoned back with the veteran volunteers, tortured and brainwashed at Drake's hands. And surely Drake had had a hand in the kidnapping of my parents and the rest of the Seven. It was time he paid for everything he'd done. "Let's go get him. Let's end this battle."

* * *

 **AN: Okay, that's the end of the chapter. I'll see y'all on Saturday for Chapter 17.**


	18. Chapter 17: We Make it Rain

**AN: Hey there y'all! As promised, I'm back with chapter 17 today! Real quick before we get into the chapter, let's do the review responses as always.**

 **First, from Wolfstin: "** **I'm pretty mad at you right now for ending it like that and making me wait three days until the next chapter. It's just mean. Just... why."  
A: Haha, sorry. I just love those cliffhangers! But don't worry, I'm here with the next chapter!**

 **Next from Wolfstin: "OH MY GODS! I just thought of something that I didn't notice the first time I read it. I had just been thinking, "I'll just reread this chapter and so I'll be reading something, just it ends in the same place every time." So, I ended up just reading some parts. I noticed that Jocelyn said, "you may be extra badass," which, that could be a compliment, depending on how you take it. Also, "Your legs must be as strong as Hercules," which could as be a compliment. Jocelyn also is calling Elizabeth, Lizzie and Elizabeth's not stopping her. What are you playing at, you author?"  
A: Those certainly were intended as compliments. What am I playing at? Well I can't tell you that, now can I! You'll jut have to wait and see.**

 **From tomhur18: "Hello there. I just started reading your series and I must say. I'm really impressed. I've been looking for an amazing story focused on the children of Percy for a long time and I finally found the perfect one. Keep up the good work"  
A: I'm glad that you're enjoying the series so much! I'd always wanted to do a story about Percy's kids, partly because I had created Elizabeth (the character) a long time before I came up with the actual idea for the series, so I really wanted to do something interesting with her, and partly because the other next gen stories I'd read here had, by and large, failed to impress me (though there were a few exceptions), and I really wanted to do a next gen story well. So anyway, thanks for the compliment, and I hope you continue to enjoy the series!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "I felt that the part just after the line break was quite funny. I can't wait until the next chapter!-Victoria"  
A: I was sorta going for a fun/funny vibe in that part. I'm glad it came across well. And the wait is over! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **From Person: "Hey the two year anniversary for Elizabeth Jackson is coming up right? Sorry for not reviewing, school has been crazy and I have gotten into a different fandom...but I will stake out this story to the end! I have been checking for uploads since last February when I noticed the Labrynith one and I went back to the first two and read them. Wow! I have spent over a year waiting for uploads...thanks for giving me some joy over this year and a half!"  
A: Yes, actually! The two year anniversary was yesterday! So that's super exciting. And don't worry about not reviewing. I totally get being busy, and as you know, I was pretty spotty with updates for a while there. But I'm glad you're planning on sticking this story out to the end, and I'm so happy to have given you something you enjoy reading.**

 **From RockRoy: "Damn, two chapters for the price of one? I have forgiven thee for the long hiatus :p** **Loved these chapters, can't wait to see how Drake gets an asswhooping :) Great to have you back :)"  
A: Haha, well thanks for forgiving me. I'm glad that you've loved these last couple chapters. And now the time has come to see the actual fight with Drake, so I hope you enjoy it, too. And I'm glad to be back!**

 **Alright, that's it for the review responses. As always, thank you for the continued support and I hope you all enjoy the chapter! DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 17: We Make it Rain

We ran back downstairs as quickly as we could. Back on the third floor, we truly got a sense of just how crazy things had gotten inside the castle. Our forces had managed to pull together and had entered the castle en masse. Every square foot of the castle was packed with our troops engaging monsters. In the center of the room, Augustus flew around, using his power over the wind to cause havoc all over the place. I tried to get his attention, but in my distraction, I hadn't noticed the monster charging at our right.

"Shit!" Theo cursed, dodging the strike from the monster. He smacked it hard across the face with his bow. The monster dropped its sword, then went tumbling over the banister. "Ah man, this was a present from dad," Theo said, holding the broken halves of his bow in his hands. Regrettably, he bent down and picked up the sword the monster had dropped.

I returned my attention to Augustus. "Gus!" I shouted.

My friend flew over to us. "What's up?" he asked. "Where's your helmet?"

I cursed, just now realizing that I'd forgotten it on the floor of the loft. "Not important. Can you give the three of us a lift down to the first floor?"

"Sure thing," Gus said. He stretched out his hands and, with a strained grunt, made us all start levitating in miniature tornadoes. Then he flew us down to the ground floor. I gave him a quick thanks, then began pushing towards the side door accessing the garden.

I sliced a snake-woman in two, stabbed a telkhine through the gut, and decapitated an empousa. I dashed through a wide open room with a hard wood floor – the castle ballroom, I was pretty sure – and finally pushed my way outside. In the distance, the sun was just starting to rise. In the garden itself, absolute chaos had broken out. About forty legionnaires were fighting just as many demititans. They were packed together, fighting shoulder to shoulder, back to back. The fighters formed a wide ring around the center of the area, where Drake, with his light brown skin, standing at seven feet of pure muscle wielding his huge double-bladed axe, was fighting both praetors of the twelfth legion. Both Sierra and Tony seemed to have lost their shields at some point, but they were still proving excellent combatants without their shields. Still, Drake's whirling blade was deadly, and neither Tony nor Sierra was able to get safely inside his attacks to hurt Drake.

I pushed my way forward, shouldering between friend and foe alike. "Elizabeth, wait!" Theo called, but I didn't wait. I needed to get into the center to help Tony and Sierra. Drake was one of the deadliest warriors I'd ever faced. I remembered our fight at the end of last summer. He had been able to fight through numerous painful injuries. His axe swings had so much force behind them that blocking actually did more harm than good.

I kept my eyes locked on the battle in the center as I pushed my way through the fight. Tony finally managed to get inside one of Drake's strikes, but before he could actually do any damage to Drake, the demititan had taken one hand off of the shaft of his axe and smacked Tony so hard that the son of Mars went flying. Sierra tried to take advantage of Drake's momentary distraction, but he whirled and smacked her in the head with the butt of his axe. She fell back, completely dazed. My breath caught. My vision tunneled on Sierra. Drake raised his axe up for the killing blow. I wasn't close enough to save her. I didn't have enough room to transform Marianas to trident mode and blast Drake. There was nothing I could do. Sierra was done for.

Then Tony appeared out of nowhere, jumping in the way of Drake's strike. My chest seized up. This was exactly what had happened with Thalia. The axe stuck straight out of Tony's chest. Drake wrenched his axe free of the praetor's chestplate. Tony toppled to the ground. Silence seemed to fall over the area. Drake turned to finish off Sierra, who was still completely out of it from the hit she'd take earlier.

Finally, I burst into the center of the area, hatred coursing through me. "DRAKE!" I shouted.

The demititan turned towards me, leaving Sierra intact on the ground. "Elizabeth," he growled.

I looked to the legionnaries on the inner side of the ring of fighters, trying to send a message to them to get Sierra to safety. They seemed to get it, because two of them ran forward and dragged her behind the line. "Let's finish this," I said to Drake.

He smiled grimly, then charged, his axe whirling though the air. I ran towards him and at the last second hit the ground, rolling between his legs. I leaped back up, swinging my blade behind me at his back as I did so. I cut a groove into his armor, but otherwise did nothing to injure him. He spun around quickly, his axe aimed straight at my head. I ducked, simultaneously throwing up my shield. The top part of my shield got sliced clean off. I reacted quickly, using the opening of Drake's strike to my advantage, and struck at his side. Before my hit could land though, Drake had taken a hand off the shaft of his axe and smacked me hard about the face. I flew back, my jaw cracking painfully. As soon as I hit the ground, I'd rolled back to my feet.

Drake raised an eyebrow at me. Clearly he wasn't used to people recovering from his smacks so quickly. Before either of us could do anything else, though, Drake yelled in pain. The point of a lance protruded from his left shoulder. He spun hard, sending the person who'd run him through and was still gripping the lance flying towards me. The person happened to be Matt. He toppled to the ground at my feet, weaponless. I grabbed him roughly with my shielded arm and yanked him to his feet. "Are you okay?" I asked him quietly.

"Fine," Matt mumbled.

"I got this," I told him. "I don't want you hurt by him."

"This is my fight, too," Matt snapped. "My praetor just took an axe to the chest."

Drake, still roaring in pain, reached around and yanked Matt's lance out of his back. He threw the weapon hard, sending it flying high over the fight and off into the distance. "You'll pay for that, Matthew Jackson!"

"How are you still holding that axe?" Matt asked incredulously. "I just stabbed you through the shoulder! You should be overcome with pain right now."

"As the son of Atlas I have an indomitable spirit," Drake growled. "I can fight through worse pain and injuries than you've ever experienced young Jackson. You'll never be able to beat me."

"Unless I kill you," Matt threatened.

"Matt, you don't even have a weapon," I said. "Just get to safety."

At that moment, Drake charged towards us. I ran forward to meet him. Drake swung his axe downwards in an overhead arc at me. I sidestepped, bashing Drake hard about the head with the half-shield I still had left. He stumbled, but only by a half-step. He brought his axe whirling back up at blinding speed. I backed off quickly, but he still managed to slice another chunk off of my shield.

Suddenly, with a yell, Matt charged back in wielding a new sword. Drake spun around in time to catch Matt's strike on the shaft of his axe. I used the opportunity to slice through the straps holding the remains of my now-useless shield to my arm. The metal wedge hit the ground. I kicked it hard, sending the chunk of celestial bronze right into Drake's shin. He winced. I swung hard at him, but he turned just in time to block the attack. Matt struck at his other side, but Drake blocked with the butt of his axe. I swung my sword hard at his injured arm, but before I could connect, Drake kicked hard, his foot impacting my left knee, hurting the leg I'd injured in the explosion a month ago. I scowled and stumbled backwards, breaking off my attack. I ducked instinctively as Drake's blade flew over my head. Matt tried to stab Drake through his now exposed chest, but the demititan backpedaled away, then swiftly planted a kick in Matt's chest. My brother flew backwards, winded.

I sliced upwards with my sword, scoring a minor blow along Drake's side. He scowled in pain and thrust the shaft of his axe upwards at my chin. I backpedaled just in time. Matt was back on his feet, charging at Drake's exposed right side. But Drake saw him coming and blocked the strike. I slashed out at him, but he quickly blocked. Both my sword and Matt's were locked with Drake's axe. He pushed hard, sending us both stumbling backwards.

"We've got to start fighting as a team," I said to Matt. "Instead of fighting two separate fights."

Matt glanced derisively at me, but before he could respond, Drake swung his axe at us in a downward arc. We each dove away in opposite directions. Drake whirled towards Matt, his axe flying through the air in deadly circles. Matt dodged away, luckily not trying to block. Trying to block Drake's swings didn't do any good. Drake's swings carried his axe behind his back as well, so I couldn't find an opening with my sword. But perhaps there was another way I could get Drake.

I transformed Marianas to trident mode and let loose a blast towards Drake's back. He yelled in pain when the blast collided with him, stumbling forward. Matt sliced upwards. Drake ducked sideways, but not quite enough. Drake's left ear got cut right off. The demititan let out a guttural scream that made my ears pop. Matt went to follow up his attack, but Drake caught his wrist with one of his hands and easily tossed Matt through the air, straight at me. My brother slammed into me and we fell to the ground in a heap. We would've both been dead if Drake hadn't still been screaming in pain over getting his ear chopped off. Matt and I untangled ourselves, climbing awkwardly to our feet. Drake was clutching the side of his head with one hand. Blood soaked through his fingers, staining his armor crimson as the blood dripped down his neck.

"You're dead!" he shouted. "Both of you!"

I gulped. That wasn't good. "Matt," I said lowly. "We have to start working better together right now."

"We're doing fine as is," Matt said.

"Yeah, but now he's extra angry," I said. "More dangerous than ever."

Drake charged at us, proving my point by attacking us with more speed and ferocity than I'd seen in my life. Matt and I dodged around, occasionally trying to get at Drake, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the ring of fighting around us got more frenzied and desperate as both sides threw everything into it, trying to bring the battle to a decisive end. The sun was truly climbing into the sky now. Dawn was fully upon us.

My blade locked into Drake's axe blade, Dan's into Drake's shaft. We both pushed hard, trying to hold Drake at bay, but we knew he could only hold him off for so long. I looked over at Matt. In his eyes I could see hatred raging. He'd just lost his praetor to Drake. I was upset about Tony, too, but Matt had definitely known him better. He'd served directly under him. His death was a huge blow, and not just to Matt, but to the whole Legion. I finally understood what had been holding Matt and I back this whole fight. I'd wanted him safely out of the way. I'd thought this fight was mine and mine alone. But Matt really did have just as much reason to fight Drake, maybe more. Matt had lost so much recently: our family, Tony… and me when I'd run off. As tough and aloof as he liked to pretend he was, he needed others. He'd needed our family, he'd needed Tony. And he needed me. And I hadn't been there for him. But no more.

Drake finally shoved us back. Matt and I stumbled back several feet. I looked over at Matt again, and understanding passed between our eyes. Matt smiled slightly. "Alright, Matt. Let's finish this. Together."

Drake laughed harshly. " _Finish this_? I'm _winning_ and I'm injured! You two can't stop me! No one can! I'm unbeatable!"

"That's where you're wrong," Matt said, levelling his sword at Drake. "We're Jacksons. Children of the two greatest heroes of all time."

"Our parents fought gods and monsters worse than you when they were twelve," I continued.

"You're not your parents," Drake spat.

"True," I agreed. "But their blood flows through our veins. Like my brother said, we're Jacksons. And guess what Drake? Beating 'unbeatable' opponents is our family's specialty." All the while, while we'd been talking, Matt had been reaching out with his powers. I'd lended my own powers to his. And now we'd built up enough. We let loose. Matt and I yelled together, and Poseidon's fury was unleashed.

* * *

Rain pounded Drake. He stumbled around, pushed around by the forty mile an hour hurricane that Matt and I had just summoned. We ran forward. Drake blocked our sword strikes, but just barely. We kept attacking, launching strike after strike at him. Eventually, one of Matt's swipes got through Drake's guard and ripped through the straps on his armor. The armor fell away, leaving Drake in a plain t-shirt, stained red from the blood still flowing from the side of his head and the shoulder Matt had stabbed earlier.

Drake's swings were getting wild and misjudged, but they were still dangerous. Meanwhile, I could feel the hurricane hurting me. My stomach was wrenching more painfully with each passing second. My head pounded. I transformed to trident mode, but the boost it provided could only hold the negative side effects at bay for so long. But I couldn't cut off my flow of powers into the hurricane either. I knew Matt needed my help to maintain this. Neither of us was strong enough to pull off something like this on our own. We needed to finish this now. And I could tell by Matt's face that he was thinking the same thing. Pain was twisting his face, too.

We both backpedaled away as Drake made a deadly swing that would've beheaded both of us. Without entirely thinking about what I was doing, I crossed weapons with Matt. A bunch of rainwater came together in a pressurized jet and blasted Drake hard in the face. He was thrown backwards. My stomach lurched painfully again. I was gonna vomit soon if we didn't finish this. I charged forward, switching back to sword mode and swinging my blade so hard that I sliced straight through the thick shaft of his axe. Drake hit me hard in the head with the end of the shaft. I fell backwards, but before he could capitalize on the moment, Matt leaped clean over me, swinging his blade hard.

There were two thuds as Drake's body and head hit the ground at different times. The son of Atlas was dead.

With effort, I shut off my powers, as did Matt apparently, because the hurricane ground to a halt. "This battle is over!" Matt shouted. "Demititans, stand down now! Your commander is dead!"

Before I could see what happened next, I collapsed. Sound disappeared entirely, replaced by a high-pitched ringing noise. I retched, emptying my last meal onto the ground in front of me. That hurricane had taken a lot out of me. In my narrow field of vision, Theo and Jocelyn both appeared. Theo tried to say something to me, but I couldn't make it out. Then, Jocelyn spoke, and her voice came through loud and clear. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

With effort, I nodded. Sound returned. "Eat this," Theo ordered, shoving some ambrosia in my mouth. I swallowed. I felt my whole body heat up, but the queasiness and headache abated slightly (though not completely) and my leg started to feel better.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "What's… what's going on?"

"The battle's over," Jocelyn said. "The demititans surrendered after Matt killed Drake."

"Tony… he's… he's…"

"Not dead yet," Theo said. "Somehow. But he's fading fast. We… we can't do anything for him. He's hurt too bad."

"Help me up," I said. "I want to get over to him."

Theo and Jocelyn pulled me to my feet. I staggered over to a small semicircle of people surrounding the form of praetor Tony Perez, blood pooling out underneath him. Matt and Sierra leaned over him. Tony's two best friends, Luke Eddy and Alicia Hilton, were there, too. "I'm sorry," Tony was muttering. "I'm so sorry to leave you guys… Luke, Alicia."

Alicia let out a sob. "Don't apologize. Just… just stay alive."

Tony coughed, blood spraying as he did so. "Bit late for that. But do me a favor, you two, and start dating. You've been skirting around it for years."

Luke and Alicia looked at each other, as if seeing one another for the first time. Tony turned his attention to Sierra. "You'd better not blame yourself."

"How can I not?" Sierra asked, tears in her eyes. "If I hadn't gotten hit, you wouldn't have had a reason to take that axe for me."

"It was my choice to do that," Tony said.

"But it should've been me," Sierra insisted. "The Legion needs you. We need your leadership."

"The Legion needs _your_ leadership," Tony replied. "You'll be great. More than great, actually. You'll be magnificent. But… the Legion does still need two praetors. I won't leave you hanging like your predecessor did me. So… Luke, Alicia, I don't suppose either of you wants to be praetor?" Neither of them were capable of words, so they just shook their heads. "Thought not," Tony muttered. "Then… Matt?"

Matt seemed startled. "What? Me? You want me to be praetor?"

"Yes," Tony said. "Will… will you do it?"

Matt seemed conflicted, but he set his face and nodded. Tony cleared his throat, wincing in pain as he did so. "Matthew Jackson. I, Tony Perez, praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, give you my final order: I resign my post and give you field promotion to praetor with full powers of the rank."

A wind seemed to blow through the garden. Matt's face looked shocked. He was praetor now.

Finally, Tony's eyes found me. "E- Elizabeth?"

"Yes?" I asked quietly.

"When… when you fight Gaius," Tony choked out, "kick his ass."

"I… I will," I stammered.

And with that, the light left Tony's eyes. He was dead.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, that's all for now. But there are still four more chapters to go! So I'll see you guys soon for chapter 18!**


	19. Chapter 18: Nico Brings Us Some News

**AN: Hello everyone! As promised, here's chapter 18. Quite a bit later on in the day than chapter 17, or even than I was planning on, but some stuff came up earlier today, so I had to push it off by a couple of hours. But I'm still here as scheduled with the next chapter! So, as always, let's do the review responses!**

 **From RockRoy: "** **Damn, did not expect that to happen to Drake, but I kinda like it. He deserved that. Nice chapter, can't wait to read the next."  
A: He did totally deserve. Glad you liked the chapter. And now the wait is over for this one, too :)**

 **From tomhur18: "That was for Thalia! Nice to see Drake go down.** **Why do I get the sneaking suspicion this "veil" is referring to the mist..."  
A: Yeah, I enjoyed writing that fight, because I created Drake in such a way that even I didn't like him and I invented his character. As for your question about the veil, well I can't tell you that now can I! You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **From Wolfstin: "Okay, wow. Alright. Just leave it off like that, that's fine too, I guess. I feel like you're just ending the chapter to annoy everyone. Whelp, I'm excited for chapter 18. I hope you have a great rest day, night, afternoon, whatever time it if for you. I'll be waiting for chapter 18, so hopefully Monday. Two days, alright. Almost there."  
A: Well, you know me, I do love my cliffhangers. And you're right: we're almost there. And the wait for chapter 18 is over!**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "So that's how Matt becomes Praetor! That was bugging me ever since he had that dream with him wearing the badge in the last book.-Victoria"  
A: Yep, that's how it happens! There's more to come related to that dream, too.**

 **From Wolfstin again: "Oh you know what? I thought you were going to update on Monday, so all day I've been checking and finally, I thought, "Okay, is it actually on Monday because it could very well not be." Then I checked and it was actually on Tuesday. I'm stupid. Just ignore the Monday thing in my last review."  
A: Actually, chapter 18 is today, Monday, and then I'm posting another chapter tomorrow, on Tuesday. So you were right. In my timezone, it's still Monday, but I had to upload the chapter later today than I was initially planning to. But you'll still be getting another chapter tomorrow.**

 **Alright, that's all the review responses. It's time for the chapter. As always, thank you all for your amazing continued support. DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Nico Brings Us Some News

Luke and Alicia collapsed on top of Tony's corpse, sobbing uncontrollably. Matt and Sierra, co-praetors now, looked at each other, tears in both their eyes, but holding it back. Knowing, no doubt, that they had to hold it together as leaders of the Legion. There was work to be done, after all. I, meanwhile, did not know what to do with myself. I was immensely sad about Tony dying, but staying in the circle of mourners just didn't feel right to me.

Theo put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's give them some space."

I nodded, still in shock over what had just happened. Theo and Jocelyn led me into the castle through a different door than we'd gone through before. We found ourselves in a hallway outside the public restrooms. Down the hall was the doorway into the dining room. A few troops hurried past us, rushing out to the garden. Clearly they'd just heard about Tony's death. The three of us stood next to the wall in silence for a few moments. Finally, I said, "I… I can't believe Tony died." I thought about meeting him for the first time, way back on my first quest. I thought about how he'd smacked sense into me after I lost my arm. I thought about the tough truths he'd given me just before we'd all left for Boldt Castle. I hadn't ever known him all that well, but he'd been an important part of my time as a hero. And now he was gone. Just like Thalia… and so many others…

The three of us remained in silence for a little longer. No one had any words to describe Tony's death. Finally, Theo spoke up, "So… what happens now?"

"I don't know," I said softly. "Presumably Matt's praetor now, though."

"There's gonna be pushback," Jocelyn predicted. "Probably just from that Devon creep. But… even so."

"The promotion was legitimate," I said hotly.

"I know that," Jocelyn said quickly. "But you know Devon. The asshat thought you were a traitor for a while for gods' sakes. He's not going to be okay with Matt being praetor now. That's all I'm saying."

We fell silent again. After another moment, several centurions came inside, walking past us into the dining room. I tilted my head, confused. When I spotted Amy walk past, I grabbed her arm. "Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Emergency meeting of all centurions," she said. "There's been some… changes to the Legion's leadership. A couple of our centurions are changing now. And… apparently we've got a new praetor now."

I frowned. "I know. I was right there. Are… are you okay, Amy?"

She sighed. "Fine, I guess. I mean, as fine as I can be given the circumstances. Tony was… he was an excellent praetor. And an inspiring leader. And… well, I feel really guilty thinking about this, but… I'm worried about Matt. I know he'll be a great praetor, but… that's a lot of responsibility to shoulder. I'm afraid of what it'll do to his mental health…"

Before I could respond, Matt and Sierra came in the door, their head close together, talking lowly. Matt glanced up at us as they came in. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Elizabeth, you alright?"

"Yeah," I said lowly. "You?"

He shrugged. "I've… been better. Listen… I'd really like to talk to you. After… after everything's been sorted out."

I nodded. "That would be nice, yeah."

Matt nodded back, then proceeded into the dining room. Sierra and Amy stared after him, both with somewhat surprised looks on their faces. "Is he… loosening up?" Sierra asked. "Finally dropping that whole tough guy façade?"

"I hope so," Amy said. "Anyway," she turned back to me, Jocelyn, and Theo, "I'll see you guys later." She hugged me, then departed.

"Are you okay?" I asked Sierra.

"I'm holding it together for now," she said. "But… this is hard for me. I…really need to get a moment alone or something… Right now, though, I've got a Legion to lead, a new co-praetor to start training, and at least one centurion who needs convincing of your brother's new rank."

I frowned. I seemed to be doing that a lot recently. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "It sounds… like you've got a lot going on. If you need to talk, you know I'm here for you, right?"

Sierra smiled weakly at me. "Yeah, I do. Thank you, Elizabeth." She gave me a super quick hug, then strode away to join the others in the dining room, her purple praetor cape rippling behind her. Soon my brother would be wearing one of those… When Sierra entered the dining room, she shut the door behind her.

"You think they'll be okay?" Theo asked. "Losing Tony was probably harder on all three of them than they're willing to admit."

"Frankly, everyone's probably messed up from this war," Jocelyn said. "We're all gonna need some therapy after this is all over."

"You're probably right," I said thoughtfully. "But they aren't really any demigod therapists. Or not enough, anyway. It was hard to find someone to talk to about my panic attacks for that very reason." A thought occurred to me. Plans for the future I didn't have. I pushed them away. There wasn't any point thinking about things like that. After this war was over, I was going back to the Underworld, no way around it. No sense in planning for the future.

At that moment, Jasper poked his head inside. "Theo, we could use your help with the injured."

"Right, coming," Theo said. He smiled thinly at us. "I'll catch up with you two a little bit later." He gave each of us a hug, then followed Jasper out of the room to where the injured campers were.

Jocelyn leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, clearly exhausted. I sat down next to her. "You good?" I asked.

"Fine," she said. "It's just been a really long night. And today is looking like it'll be really long, too."

"Maybe you should take a nap," I suggested.

She shrugged. "Maybe in a little while. But if anyone needs rest, it's you, Lizzie. Summoning that hurricane must've taken a lot out of you."

She was right. My whole body ached. Despite the ambrosia I'd eaten, my stomach still felt twisted up in knots. My head still pounded painfully. And I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be able to use my powers at all for hours. My powers were totally burned out. But I just didn't feel like sleeping right now. My nerves were just too frayed. "I'm good for now," I said. "I had help with the hurricane after all. Neither Matt nor I are strong enough to pull that off on our own."

"It was still incredibly badass," Jocelyn said. "Also, I've got a bone to pick with you. How come you've stopped getting offended when I call you Lizzie? That was half the fun!"

I couldn't help but laugh. It felt so good to truly laugh again after the insanity of the last few days. Finally, I managed to say, "Sorry, Joce, I guess I just got used to it."

"I'll have to find a new way to annoy you, then," she said simply.

"Or, and this is just a thought, you could try _not_ annoying me for once," I pointed out.

"Lame," Jocelyn said. "Annoying you is what I do, Lizzie. And I'm not planning on going anywhere on you anytime soon. You're stuck with me annoying you, no way around it. So you'll just have to accept it."

I snorted, but then my mind wandered and I remembered that only a handful of hours ago we hadn't even been friends. My fault, obviously, but even so… she kinda had gone away. Not physically, but emotionally. She'd turned her back on me…

Jocelyn seemed to sense what I was thinking. She sighed. "Poor wording. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't need to –"

"Yes, I do," she said. "It was not fair of me to get as mad at you as I did. I was being a shitty friend. Letting my anger and my past hurt get the better of me. Instead… I should've just been happy to have you back safe and sound. But I'm gonna be a better friend from here on out."

" _I_ was the shitty friend," I said quickly. "I shouldn't have run off. And I shouldn't have lied to you when I came back. But worst of all… now I'm back, but since I'm going back to Hades after this is all over… It's just… it's really unfair of me to try and be friends with you again because… because you'll just lose me again. It's selfish of me to put you through that."

Jocelyn shook her head hard. "Don't talk like that. We're going to figure out a way to get you out of this Hades thing, you'll see. Me, you, and Theo – when the three of us set our minds to something we get it done. And… even if we can't… I'd rather have the chance to spend time with my best friend while I still can."

My heart was pounding so hard, I was pretty sure my armor was vibrating. If there was ever time to tell Jocelyn how I felt about her, it was now. "L-listen, Joce –"

But at that very moment, the dining room door burst open and Devon went storming past in a rage. I leaped to my feet, turning towards the door as I did so. Matt stood framed in the doorway, his sea green eyes stormy, the badge of praetor now pinned to his chest. He heaved a sigh, then turned back into the dining room, reclosing the door. I slowly sat back down next to Jocelyn. "I wonder what's going on," I muttered.

"Well Devon obviously isn't happy," she noted. "But anyway, Elizabeth, you were about to say something."

"Oh… uh… I forgot," I lied. The moment had passed, and my fear got the better of me.

* * *

Jocelyn and I talked together for a little bit longer, but we were both exhausted. Soon we were yawning, then dozing. Finally, I fell all the way asleep. Unfortunately, when I did, I dreamt.

In my dream, I found myself in an unfamiliar airport following an all-too familiar demititan. Eliana made her way away from the arrival gate wheeling a small suitcase behind her. Unusually for Eliana, she was not wearing her armor. Instead she wore black jeans, a pair of fancy flats, a blue halter top, sunglasses, and a big, floppy hat. She actually looked pretty attractive when she wasn't wearing her armor and trying to kill me. She also looked like the exact stereotype that people of think of when they hear the word "tourist."

Eliana strode purposefully away from the gate. I looked around for some kind of indication of where she was. Finally, I spotted a sign that read "O'Hare International Airport."

 _O'Hare?_ I thought. I'd never flown on a plane before, but I was fairly certain O'Hare was in Chicago. What was Eliana doing in Chicago?

After a few minutes, Eliana made it to the baggage claim and the exterior door. She ignored the conveyor belt with bags on it – clearly the small suitcase with her was her only bag. Instead she made her way over to two men in black suits holding up a sign with her name on it. "Hello, gentlemen," Eliana said, lowering her sunglasses.

"Eliana?" one of them asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously. I wouldn't have walked up to you otherwise, now would I?"

"Right this way, then, ma'am," the other guy said. They led the way outside where a black town car was waiting. One of the men opened the back door and Eliana climbed. I quickly followed her in. The person sitting next to Eliana in the town car was unfamiliar to me, but he was dressed like he was someone important.

He shook hands with her. "Pleasure to meet you," he said. "Gaius told me you would be coming."

"Hm," Eliana said, shaking back but clearly unimpressed with the man next to her. "Hello there, Mr. Mayor."

At that moment, I was shaken awake. Katherine was crouching in front of me. "Sorry to wake you guys up, but a full war council meeting was just called." I shifted to get up, then realized with a start that Jocelyn was asleep on my shoulder. My heart thundered so loudly I was surprised she didn't hear it and wake up. All my blood rushed to my face. I really wanted to let her keep sleeping on my shoulder for a little bit. It was a nice feeling. But there were important things to do.

I nudged her awake. "Hey, uh, Joce?"

She yawned, sitting up as she did so. "Damn. Must've dozed off there. You make a fairly comfortable pillow, though. Sup?"

If I hadn't already been blushing, I definitely was now. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "A uh… war council meeting is sup. We should go see what they want."

* * *

The full war council crammed into the dining room. There wasn't nearly enough space for all of us, but we made it work. As usual, Katherine and I stood together, situating ourselves near our friends. As I looked around the room, I noticed a handful of new faces. I hoped the new faces were filling in for people who were injured, rather than dead, but I had an unfortunate feeling about it. The Carrie girl from Aphrodite who'd helped Jake make the new armor was filling in as the head of the Aphrodite cabin. One of the Centurions from the third Cohort was absent too, since Emily was filling in for her, the badge of Centurion pinned to her chest. A person I vaguely recognized as one of Matt's friends had also been promoted to Centurion.

Many more of the people in the room bore evidence of injuries. One of Dan's arms was in a sling. Spencer had a gash on the side of his face. Most notably, Elesa's head was wrapped in a multitude of bandages.

"Alright everyone, let's keep this brief," Spencer said. "First and foremost, we lost a lot of good people today. So please, let's have a moment of silence for all their losses."

After a full minute of dead silence, Sierra spoke up, "Among the fallen was Tony Perez. His last act as praetor was to give a battlefield promotion to Matt Jackson. The promotion is legitimate, according to the Legion's laws, so Matt is now praetor."

A few people turned and whispered to each other, but mostly everyone stayed subdued. Matt cleared his throat awkwardly. "Our uh… next order of business is what we'll do now. Theo, could you give us an update on the injured?"

"Well about three quarters of everyone who fought today have some kind of injury, even if it's just scrapes and bruises," Theo said. "But there are quite a few people with much worse injuries. Moving some of them right now would be risky. I would suggest that we stay here, on Heart Island, for the next day or two until everyone has had a chance to heal up some."

Matt and the other commanders all looked at each other, then Matt turned back to Theo and said, "Very well, we'll take your suggestion, Theo."

"In that case," Elesa said, "we'll need to get the island set up for our stay here. Jake, could you take charge of that?"

"Yeah," Jake said. He looked absolutely exhausted. His limbs seemed to hang off his torso, like he wasn't able to actually hold them up anymore. His eyes almost drooped. Theo glanced over at him, worried. But Jake, despite his apparent utter exhaustion, at least wasn't injured. "I could use a hand organizing though. Maybe a Centurion could lend a hand?"

"I can do it," said Amy.

"That will do, then," Sierra said. "Everyone is dismissed. Prepare to get instructions from Jake and Amy about setting up camp."

* * *

After that, everyone worked in shifts to clean up the castle and surrounding island, set up camp, and find a good place to lock away our new prisoners. I helped Jocelyn take apart the computer network connected to the castle's security cameras. "Looks like these computers were sending the feed somewhere else," Jocelyn muttered.

"So someone could've been watching the whole battle unfold?" I asked.

Jocelyn nodded. "Yeah. And I think you and I both know who. I've cut the feed. Still, we should have Jake analyze the data. He might be able to figure out exactly where the feed was being sent. Meaning…"

"Meaning we could find Gaius's headquarters," I finished.

Jocelyn nodded. "After everything's been set up and Jake's had some time to rest, I'll have him take a look at it. And then… we can go save your parents. Cause I'm assuming that they're there."

Later in the day, on a break, I sat down with Hannah in the library area. She still seemed a bit shell shocked by everything, but otherwise okay. She was talking in a low voice with Emily. "Hey Hannah," I said softly.

Hannah glanced up at me. "Hey, Elizabeth. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. It was getting easier every day to believe the lie myself. "Listen, Hannah, I just… I just wanted you to know that… I know this battle wasn't what you thought it would be, but… you did well today. We couldn't have done it without you."

"I doubt that," Hannah said. "You're an amazing hero, Elizabeth. You could've figured out how to win without me."

I crouched in front of Hannah, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me, Hannah. You're already a great hero too. I know you ended up having to learn far too quickly how serious everything can be. But you truly were phenomenal today. Never forget that, and never let anyone tell you different. I know you're freaked out still. I understand that better than you know probably. But that's nothing to be ashamed of, okay? If you ever need anything, you let me know."

Hannah nodded. "Thanks, Elizabeth," she muttered.

I stood to go, but just before I did, I noticed Emily smile slightly at me and mouth "thank you."

* * *

At around two in the afternoon, a few of the veterans came over to drop off the things we'd left at the landing sight, so I finally had a chance to change out of my armor and sweaty Kevlar/celestial bronze enforced tights and back into my normal jeans, shirt, and, of course, my leather jacket. Just as I pulled on my jacket, Sierra strolled up to me. She'd changed out of her armor as well. She didn't look so great. Her brown hair was unusually frizzy, her light blue eyes were rimmed in red like she'd been crying. The spot on her forehead where Drake had hit her had turned a nasty green color. "Hey, Elizabeth," she said, her voice a croak.

"Sierra, hi," I said. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she admitted. "It's… the last twenty-four hours have been unbearably long. And it's not even over yet."

"I know what you mean," I said. "Do you… want to talk about it? Go on a walk?"

Sierra nodded.

So the two of us strolled out of the castle and walked around the grounds of Heart Island until we found a spot down on the beach far away from everyone else. Sierra sat down in the rocks and sighed, looking out across the St. Lawrence. I sat down next to her. "Tony's death hit you hard, didn't it?" I asked.

Sierra nodded again. New tears were forming in her eyes. "It's just… after everything… I mean, I thought our parents were untouchable, right? But then they get kidnapped right under all of our noses. And that's been so hard for me. I'm worried about them Elizabeth. But I knew I had to soldier on. Tough it out. I had a Legion to help lead. And an amazing co-praetor to support. I thought… I thought Tony was untouchable, too. He just… seemed like a fixture at Camp Jupiter. And an unstoppable warrior. And now… he's gone."

"The way you talk about him… did you love him?" I asked. Sierra let out a little bit of a chuckle. "What? What's funny?"

"I didn't love him like that," Sierra said. "I loved him as a friend, sure. But not like that. To be honest with you, Elizabeth… I've never loved anyone like that. I've not even ever had a crush on someone before. That's just… it's just funny because you'd think, as a descendent of Venus, that I'd've felt romantic love before. But… never. It just seems a foreign concept to me. I don't even really understand what other people find so appealing about it."

I glanced at her in surprise. "Really? That's… not what I expected. You've _never_ had a crush before?"

Sierra shook her head. She was staring straight ahead, not looking at me. She'd tensed up, as if afraid I was going to judge her. "No. I… don't really like to talk about it much. Makes me feel like a disgrace to my grandmother. But I was talking to someone about it, and they said that it sounds like I'm aromantic. Possibly asexual, too. Can you believe that? An aromantic granddaughter of Venus? That's unheard of."

"Well, that's okay," I said. Sierra seemed to relax at my words. I got the distinct impression that perhaps someone had made fun of her for her sexuality – or rather lack thereof – before. Maybe even her own grandmother. I didn't like that possibility, but it seemed likely enough given what I knew about Aphrodite. "That just means that your life is a whole lot easier. Well... not easier really, I guess. But relationships are hard and having a crush is hard, so that's at least something you don't have to worry about is what I mean. You don't have to worry about crushes or trying to impress someone. You don't have to get embarrassed every time you touch or light up red whenever you're near them. It's not easy having a crush on someone, believe me."

Sierra glanced at me sideways, a coy smile on her face. "Oh? It sounds like you've got a crush on someone right now? Who might that be?"

I looked around, confirming what I already knew to be true – that there was no one else around. Then I turned back to Sierra. Part of me didn't want to tell her about Jocelyn, but she was my oldest friend in the world. Plus she'd just admitted something difficult to me. I was touched that our friendship still meant enough to her that she was willing to share something like that with me. Now it was my turn. "Yeah," I said slowly. "Listen, though, you can't tell anyone, okay? But uh… well, first off, I'm not straight. I'm actually bisexual. And uh… I have a pretty serious crush on Jocelyn. I have for a while, actually, but I only figured out that that was what it was recently."

Sierra grinned at me. "Now that is interesting. Have you told her how you feel?"

I shook my head. "No. I can't do it. How can I? It would ruin our friendship."

"You sound like your brother when he talks to me about his crush on Amy," Sierra pointed out. "Maybe being afraid to tell your crush how you feel runs in the family?"

I stuck my tongue out at her and shoved her lightly. "Oh, shut up," I said playfully, trying to hide the fact that my thoughts had returned, once again, to how limited my time was. I couldn't tell Jocelyn how I felt, because even if she liked me back, I'd be gone after this was all over. That wasn't fair to her. But I couldn't bring myself to tell Sierra that. I just couldn't do it.

Before either of us could say anything else, Sierra's phone went off. She answered it in voice only mode quickly. "Yeah, what's up?" I couldn't hear what the person on the other end said, but Sierra sighed. "Yeah, okay, I'm on my way." She hung up and turned to me regretfully. "Well, duty calls unfortunately. Thanks for talking to me and helping me take my mind off things, even if only for a little bit."

"Anytime," I said. "And I mean that Sierra."

Sierra nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thank you, Elizabeth." We hugged, then Sierra stood up and ran off to do whatever it was she needed to do. I remained on the beach, I didn't want to go back and join the others just yet. I just wanted a moment to myself. Because Sierra had been right: the last twenty-four hours had been unbearably long. And it wasn't even close to over yet.

I was only alone for about a minute before I suddenly noticed someone sitting next to me on the beach. A man with dark hair and matching beard, sea green eyes, and a hideous Hawaiian shirt was staring out across the water. "Hello, dear," he said softly.

Anger reared up inside me. "Where the _hell_ have you been?!" I yelled. I hadn't even fully realized until now that I had _expected_ to see my grandfather before now. To have him appear before, like he'd done every summer, at least to give me advice or assistance. Or at let me know he was worried about my parents, too. But nothing. Not even so much as a dream message had come from him since my parents had disappeared. "I thought you cared," I finally said. "I thought you cared about me. Or at least that you cared about my dad. But obviously not, because I haven't heard a single _word_ from you since they disappeared. Even Dionysus came to talk to me for gods' sakes! But nothing from you."

"I know," he said lowly. He didn't sound angry at me for my outburst, which was good. In fact, he actually sounded ashamed. "I… I wish I could've come to you before now, but… Zeus, he… he's been keeping far too close an eye on me recently. He's been getting more crazed and desperate, Elizabeth. He's truly worried about this Gaius."

"Yeah, cause the gods are doing _so_ much to help out," I spat.

"We are doing more than you realize," Poseidon said defensively. "But… I do agree with you that we should be doing more. But listen, Elizabeth, I do not have much time. Zeus will notice me at any moment. I need to tell you something."

"And what's that?" I asked, somewhat derisively.

"Brace yourself, Elizabeth," he said. "A storm is coming. A storm the likes of which the world has never seen before." Suddenly there was a crack of thunder. Lightning flashed in the clear blue sky. Poseidon winced. "I must go. Remember: brace yourself."

And suddenly he was gone. I stared had the spot where he'd just been sitting, gaping. "Wait!" I yelled too late. "Wait, what does that mean?!" But it was useless. Poseidon was gone. I yelled in rage, slamming my hands hard into the stony ground. If my powers weren't still totally out of commission, I probably would've caused the river to get agitated.

* * *

About an hour after the sun had set, we all gathered down by the beach to burn the shrouds of our fallen comrades. We had lost a combined totally of twenty campers, ten from each camp. Given the siege weapons that had been firing on us during the battle, things could've been a lot worse. But even so, twenty was a staggering number of people to lose in a single day. And most significantly, of course, Tony was dead. I stood at the back of the crowd, feeling slightly guilty. I hadn't really known any of these people, except Tony, but only kind of in his case. And besides that, I just couldn't shut down my whirling thoughts to focus on the somber event. So only about five minutes into the ceremony, I quietly slipped away.

I wandered back inside Boldt Castle, eventually finding myself back on the fourth floor balcony, staring across the river at the lights of the nearby town. Alexandria Bay, I think it was called.

What was going on? I thought about my dream of Eliana. Why on earth had she gone to Chicago? To see the mayor, no less. Was he a demititan? What were they planning? What was Gaius planning? Poseidon's warning rang in my head. _A storm is coming. A storm the likes of which the world has never seen before._ What did that mean? What did the demititans have up their sleeves? I remembered what Gwendolyn had told me at the beginning of the summer: the rest of my prophecy from last year would be coming true soon. Which meant Gaius was going to destroy something called the veil. But _what_ was the veil and why was it so important? I was missing some crucial piece of information to put the puzzle together.

And my family… where were they? I mean, Gaius's main headquarters, probably, I figured that much out. But where was his headquarters? I was starting to get more and more angry at Rhea. She'd promised me that I'd find the path to my parents by coming to Boldt Castle, but that hadn't happened. I still had no clue what had happened to them or the rest of my family. I was in the dark, and there was still no trace of them… Maybe the data on the Boldt Castle computers could lead us back to where they were, but I knew it couldn't be that simple. Nothing ever was…

"There you are," said a familiar voice behind me, breaking me out of my reverie. I turned. Matt, in his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt with the badge of praetor pinned to his chest, was coming towards me. "Thought you might be up here."

I shrugged. "I felt like I was intruding on the ceremony. I… didn't really know any of them all that well. Except Tony, but even with him… I didn't know him all that well. I actually feel really bad about that."

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Matt said. "I mean, I did know Tony and I knew Rochelle, one of the Third Cohort Centurions who died today, but I didn't really know any of the others. I _should have_ known them better. But… I didn't."

We both fell silent for a moment. Matt came over and joined me at the railing. I cleared my throat, shifting gears in the conversation, "So… you're praetor now."

"Yeah, I guess so," Matt said. "If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be praetor now, I probably wouldn't have believed you."

"Well, you had that dream back in the Labyrinth," I pointed out. "And Caesar said it would happen, too."

"Caesar said I'd have a meteoric rise in the Legion," Matt corrected. "But that was vague. Same with my dream. I just saw the badge of praetor on my chest. I didn't know that meant Tony would die."

"That sounds suspiciously like you're blaming yourself," I said. "There wasn't anything you could've done, Matt."

Matt sighed. "Maybe you're right. But still… if becoming praetor was my fate… doesn't that kinda make it my fault?"

"You can't control fate," I said. "It was Tony's choice to throw himself in front of that blade. You don't have responsibility for his actions. All you can do now is be the best praetor you can be."

"I'll try," Matt said uneasily. He sounded worried, like he didn't think he was up to the task. But I knew he was. Despite the shitty circumstances that had led to his promotion, I knew that Matt was going to be a fantastic praetor. My little brother had already proven himself a more than capable leader. I remembered down in the Labyrinth last year, how he'd taken charge in Nero's arena. I thought about him as a centurion. I hadn't seen much of him commanding his Cohort, but clearly he was good at it based on the fact that Tony had seen fit to promote him. If anyone could fill Tony's shoes, it was Matt. Before I could tell him any of this, Matt spoke up again. "Anyway, I didn't come up here to talk about my new job. I came to apologize. I… I shouldn't have been so hard on you right when you got back. All the dying last night and this morning… well it just reminded me how lucky I am that you're actually still alive. So… I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I said. "I should've thought more about how you would feel before I ran off. I was just worried about myself. My own pain. I didn't think about yours. Well, not enough at any rate. Big sisters are supposed to be there for their little brothers. I wasn't. So… _I'm_ sorry."

"How about we just hug and call it even?" Matt suggested.

I smiled. "Deal."

We hugged each other, for real this time. No pent up anger from Matt cutting the hug short, and no painful punch on the shoulder afterwards. Just a real hug with my little brother. I started to tear up. And then I realized something I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before. "Are you… are you taller than me now?"

Matt laughed, and hearing a genuine laugh from him again brought a huge smile to my face. "Finally! Do you know how long I've waited to finally be taller than you?"

"This simply won't do," I complained. "I'm the big sibling. I'm supposed to be… well, bigger. I can't have you passing me up like this. It's just not acceptable."

Matt stuck his tongue out at me. "Too bad big sis. You had to know it was gonna happen eventually. Still, that took _forever_. How tall _are_ you?"

I shrugged. "Like, five ten?"

" _Five foot ten?_ " Matt repeated incredulously. "That is freakishly tall for a girl."

"Oh, gee, thanks for that," I said sarcastically offended. I knew he was only kidding, after all. "Make up and then immediately call me a freak. That's _real_ nice Matt."

"Sorry, but like… how many girls do you know that are that tall?"

"Cecelia is at least six feet tall," I pointed out. "And she's still thirteen."

"Okay, but Hephaestus's kids are usually tall," Matt said. "Except Uncle Leo."

Immediately our cheerful banter evaporated. We both sighed, staring back out across the water. "Where are they?" Matt asked. "Are they even… still… you know. Alive?"

I shook my head, just as lost as he was. "I don't… I don't know."

"I can answer both of those questions," said a new voice. Matt and I looked back over to the wall next to the doorway inside. Nico di Angelo leaned there, his black hair messy. He had quite a bit of stubble on his face, like he'd failed to remember to shave recently. He must've just shadow travelled to us. "Your family is still alive," he informed us. "And I've found them."

"Where are they?" Matt and I both asked quickly.

"At the main demititan base," Nico said. "All eight of them are locked up there, according to my intel. I'd've already gone in to get them, but the demititans put up some kind of ward that blocks magical travel into or out of the place, sort of like that Aztec temple you visited on your first quest, Elizabeth. I could use your help. Both of you."

"What do we need to do?" I asked.

"I'll shadow travel us to a point right outside their base," Nico said. "Just beyond where the anti-shadow travel spell ends. We'll sneak in, find the cell block, break everyone out, sneak back out of the base, then shadow travel back here."

"Can you shadow travel everyone?" Matt asked, concerned. "Not counting you, there will be ten of us."

"With Hazel's help, I can," Nico said. "It'll still be difficult, but possible. We've got to hurry, though. Gaius plans on executing them tomorrow. I don't know why he's waited until now, but whatever the reason, it's gotta be bad. We need to act now if we're going to save them."

Matt and I looked at each other, alarmed. "We're in," I said.

Just then, Jocelyn appeared in the doorway. "Hey Lizzie, I was just looking – oh, Nico. Hey. What's going on?"

"Nico found our family," I said. "Matt and I are going with him to help save them."

"I'll go get Theo," Jocelyn said quickly. "We'll come help, too."

"Unfortunately Miss Clement," Nico said, "I'll have a hard enough time transporting everyone back as is, even with Hazel's help. I just don't have enough power to add anyone else to the group."

Jocelyn clearly didn't like that answer, but she seemed to accept it. "Alright, well… good luck then. I'll cover for you guys."

Matt nodded. "Thanks, Jocelyn."

Jocelyn nodded back, then hugged me swiftly. "See you soon."

"You too," I said. Then Matt and I turned to Nico. We grabbed his outstretched hand and instantly folded into the shadows.

* * *

 **AN: See you guys tomorrow!**


	20. Chapter 19: We Lead a Jail Break

**AN: Alright, next chapter time. Real quick, let's do review responses.**

 **First, from EllaAnnieGrace: "I'm glad the Jackson siblings, and Elizabeth and Sierra made up.-Victoria"  
A: Yeah, it was a long road for Elizabeth to get back in everyone's good graces, but she got there.**

 **From Wolfstin: "Alright. Alright. That's a pretty decent way to end it, I guess. Uh. Yeah. I can't really think of anything to say expect for the fact that I'm mad about Jocabeth or Jocebeth. I forgot which way it's spelled. I'm mad about you not taking it farther than it alright is. I wish this was actually canon because I honestly ship it so hard. But. Yes. Words. Are interesting."  
A: I believe I have seen the ship spelled both ways. But yeah. I can't exactly give y'all instant gratification on that, now can I? You'll have to wait and see what happens with them.**

 **From Person: "This is getting real! I am so excited! Also I am so happy Matt and Elizabeth made up. I personally like Matt the best so it makes me so happy to see them work together...what's gonna work-teamwork! Yeah...I truly appreciate all of the work that you put in to making this realistic, because there are so many fanfics and even books out there that do unreasonable and unrealistic things. Example: I just ran away and died...all is better. NO!** **Thank you for not doing that!"  
A: Glad you're excited! And yeah, I like Matt's character a lot and honestly, his character arc has probably changed him the most over the course of the series and there's still more to come. And I appreciate that you appreciate my attention to realism. Obviously they live in a world where the Greek gods and monsters are real, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't behave like realistic people. And the fact is, to use your example, when someone, say, runs away, some people will be relieved when they come back and some people will be pissed the hell off. So yeah, I've really tried to be as realistic as possible with my characters, and I'm glad that you appreciate it so much.**

 **Okay, I'm sure you're all excited to see what happens next, so I won't delay you any longer. Thank you as always, enjoy the chapter, and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 19: We Lead a Jail Break

We popped out of the shadow travel in the middle of the woods somewhere. Next to us, a large pipe came out of the hillside next to us. The hole was barred with metal poles. A trickle of greyish water was coming out of the pipe, soaking into the ground. "Where are we?" Matt asked.

"Canada," Nico responded, drawing his sword. "Good place for the demititans to set up their base. The gods have a hard time operating in the far north, so the demititans are pretty safe from them up here."

"Marina's separate base was up in Canada, too," I said, remembering the former member of Gaius's council. "For the exact same reason, too."

Nico slashed through the metal bars, giving us access to the pipe. "This is where the grey water for the entire demititan complex is drained. If we follow this, it should lead us right underneath their base."

I nodded, jumping into the pipe first. Matt and Nico climbed right in behind me. I pulled out my phone, activating the flashlight on it. We walked in silence up the pipe, hunched over, our feet splashing softly in the water. "Why is there so little water in the pipe?" Matt whispered.

"Well it's grey water, right?" I said. "Runoff from showers? There probably aren't that many people showering right now."

"More likely the demititans have some sort of purification center of their own," Nico said. "They probably try to purify as much of the shower runoff as possible so they can reuse it. Probably only dump a little bit of the water at a time."

We all fell silent again, continuing up the pipe. After what felt like an eternity, we reached a dead end. Above us was a grate through which the tiny trickle of water was coming. "Stand back," Nico said. Matt and I took a couple steps back down the pipe. Nico swung his sword hard a couple of times, slicing open the grate. Metal pipes from the grate and some chunks of stone toppled down into the water. Nico turned to us. "I'll go up first. If it's clear, then you two can come up as well." He grabbed onto the edges of the hole he'd made and pulled himself up. After a moment of delay, he called down, "Okay, the coast is clear."

Matt pulled himself up and I followed quickly after. I looked around at our surroundings. We were in some kind of empty reservoir in a room filled with some heavy machinery. I glanced over at the machines to our right. Some sort of huge metal framework was churning water. A gate adjoined the empty reservoir we stood in to this machine. It was shut, but no doubt it opened after the reusable water had been cycled out. I shut off my phone light and stowed the device away because there were red operating lights on all the machines in the room, giving us enough light without my flashlight.

Matt, Nico, and I climbed out of our reservoir and onto a plain cement floor by some kind of control console. The system seemed automated, but the console was likely for fixing any issue that arose. At the other end of the room there was a metal door with a window in the top part. We strode over, peaking through. The next room seemed to be just as empty as the room we were in now. We went through the door.

We found ourselves in what I assumed was the demititan's machine shop/their forge. Work benches and shop machines filled a wide, open room. Stacks of weaponry lay on tables or in brackets along the walls. In the back corner, a metal staircase led upstairs to the second floor. The ceiling above us/the floor for the next level was metal grating, so I could see up onto the second floor. There were lines of shelves up there. The wall opposite us had an open garage door opening into… well, a garage. I saw a fleet of black SUVs and various other vehicles in the huge garage. Next to the door into the garage, there was another door, set into the wall next to us, that opened up to the outside, based on the moonlight coming in through this door's window. Matt and I looked to Nico. He nodded, taking the lead. We walked through the shop past all the equipment and over to the exterior door. "Alright," Nico whispered, "you two stay here. I'm going to check if the coast is clear. Stay on your guard."

He swiftly opened the door, ducked outside, then just as quickly shut the door behind him. Matt and I stood in tense silence, hands gripping our sword hilts tightly. Everything was so still and quiet. I almost imagined my heart holding its beat in anticipation. After what felt like an eternity, Nico appeared at the door window. We opened the door, letting him back in. "Alright," Nico whispered very seriously. "Follow me outside. Stay low and stay quiet."

We exited back out into the night, crouched down. Nico motioned us to stay against the wall. I looked all around, taking in our surroundings. The building we'd just been in was a big two or three story warehouse-type building adjoined to a large garage. It was situation on a piece of land cleared out of the woods, a mile, maybe two miles square. Walls surrounded the land with watchtowers even taller than the surrounding woods set into the walls in regular intervals. The garage doors of the building we'd just emerged from let out onto a long, wide, paved driveway. One end went all the way down to a huge gate built into the wall, with a watchtower flanking the gate on either side. In the corner of the compound, across the driveway, there were a collection of long, low buildings. Barracks, probably.

The other way up the driveway led to the main building. The road formed a huge loop in front of the main building, a large fountain in the center of the loop. A stone patio filled the space between the building itself and the driveway. The main house itself was huge; a mansion to put even Boldt Castle to shame. The main front doors were set underneath huge four or five story windows leading up to a huge pointed roof. Clearly this central part of the house was some sort of great hall of some kind. Two wings shot out of this center section, each one of them three extra tall stories in size. After quite a distance, each of these wings turned at ninety degrees and went on even further, about half the distance of the first part of the wing. Furthermore, the architecture was not only huge, but beautiful as well, with intricate stonework, ornate windows, and magnificent gables on the roof. I shook myself. I needed to focus on the mission at hand, not get caught up in admiring the evil villain's architecture. Still, I couldn't help but wonder where Gaius had gotten the money to pay for a place like this.

"There're two guards in front of the main doors," Nico whispered. "We can stay out of their line of sight if we loop way out to the right and come at them from the side. We knock them out quickly and silently, alright?"

Matt and I nodded. Nico led the way, taking us in a wide arc around the outside of the driveway, sticking to the shadows as best as possible, though it was difficult with the bright full moon overhead. Still the guards didn't notice us. They seemed to be bored with their station, leaning against the shafts of their spears while they talked. " – hear what happened to Drake?" one of them was saying.

"Yeah, I heard," his friend responded. "I was in the room watching the camera footage from Boldt Castle. The Jackson kids killed him. Damn shame. He was a good fighter."

"And all the demititans there with him got captured," the first guard said. "I also heard rumor that Drake asked for reinforcements a bit before the battle, but Gaius refused to send them. What does that say about how much Gaius cares about us?"

The second guard sighed. "Gaius has a lot going on as our leader. Unfortunately, it's a fact of war. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Just be thankful that you're stationed here and weren't at Boldt Castle."

By this point, the three of us had reached the edge of the patio. The guards stood about ten feet in front of the large, mahogany double doors. Enough room for us to sneak up behind them and take them out. Nico seemed to have the same thought. He motioned us to climb up onto the patio. We snuck along the wall of the building and right up behind the guards. Nico counted down silently on his fingers. At zero, we launched. Nico wrapped one arm around his guard's throat, covering the demititan's mouth and nose with his other hand. I simply bashed mine hard over the head with my metal arm. He was instantly out cold. After Nico had choked out his guy, we dragged both of them off the patio and into the shadows cast by the building. Nico pulled some zip cords from his pockets. "Brought these for just this occasion," Nico said to my questioning look. He bound up the guards and stuff gags in their mouths.

We returned to the patio and stood in front of the large front doors. "Ready?" Nico asked us. I didn't _feel_ ready. My hands shook nervously. A cold sweat drenched my back. One look at Matt told me he was just as nervous as I was. Nevertheless, we both nodded.

Nico opened the doors. We found ourselves in a huge, dark room, lit only by the moonlight coming in the gigantic windows behind us. I had been right in thinking this was a Great Hall of some sort. The ceiling above us was angled the same way as the roof outside, five stories above where we stood. Balconies ringed the three interior walls at the second and third levels. The walls to our right and left had several doors in them. Straight ahead, at the back of the room, there was a slightly raised split level. Two large televisions on wheeled stands were set up there. In the back wall, there was a singular door.

"Which way?" Matt asked, his whisper oddly amplified in the large space.

Nico looked around, unsure. "Uh… well, when all else fails, try going left."

I looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Why left?"

Nico shrugged. "Better than going right."

He led us over to the first door in the wall to our left. The door entered into a long hallway. On our left windows looked out over the compound, moonlight lighting our way. On the right there were more doors into more rooms. Ever several rooms, there was a hallway that ran perpendicular to ours and joined up with a parallel hallway to ours running along the backside of the building. "This place is massive," Matt complained. "What are we gonna do? Search every room?" Nico didn't respond.

We made our way silently down the hallway. As we approached the corner where the wing we were in turned, we heard footsteps. We all looked at each other, worried. We turned around, but that's when we heard footsteps coming from the nearest adjoining hallway. I felt my lungs start to constrict. Our rescue mission had barely started and it was already over.

Nico grabbed Matt and I by our arms and dragged us into the nearest doorway, which was a pair of swinging double doors. As soon as we were in, Nico grabbed hold of the doors from the inside, ensuring they were good and shut as to not give away our position. I only got the briefest look at the room we were in – some sort of cafeteria – before I turned back to the door and joined Matt and Nico in pressing my ear against it.

Both sets of footsteps slowed to a stop outside our door. "Good evening, Jameson," said a woman's voice. Based on where her voice was coming from, I had to guess she was the one coming down the main hallway. "You're up late."

"I'm taking over from Lila in the cell block," Jameson responded, his voice indicating he'd come from the adjoining hall. Matt, Nico, and I all looked at each other excitedly. This Jameson guy was going right where we needed to get. "I told her I'd take over from her tonight in exchange for her taking over my next watchtower shift. I hate heights and all, so…"

"That makes sense," said the first voice.

"Yeah," Jameson said. "Anyway, what are you doing up, Carmen?"

"Got a text from Emmanuel. Apparently his roommate left for patrol duty a few minutes ago so he's got the room to himself." I frowned. If the demititans lived in the main house, who were the barracks for? Monsters perhaps?

Jameson chuckled. "Ah, while the roommate's away, the couple shall play. Well before things get too hot and heavy, give Emmanuel my best, yeah?"

"Yeah, will do. See you later, Jameson."

"Have a good night, Carmen," Jameson said. They started walking again, heading off in opposite directions. Carmen's footsteps seemed to turn off down the adjoining hall. Jameson's went off down the main hall, turning the corner where the whole wing turned.

"The demititans have personal lives," Matt said, seeming somewhat surprised, like he hadn't thought about that before. "I… wonder if Drake had a girlfriend or boyfriend…"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't focus on that. You did what you had to do. And right now, we've got a mission to finish."

"Indeed," Nico said lowly. "Guilt does you no good. What's done is done. Now, we've got to move."

We exited back out into the hallway. We peaked around the corner after the direction Jameson had strolled off in. He was about ten yards ahead of us, walking along casually, leisurely swinging a guard baton in his hand. _What do we do?_ I mouthed to Nico.

Nico put his finger to his mouth, then creeped down the hall after Jameson. Matt and I followed silently. Nico moved quickly, blending in with the shadows better than Matt or I could. A few times, I was pretty sure he almost disappeared. Nico got right up behind Jameson, then grabbed hold of him and slammed him hard against the wall, dazing the demititan. Nico pressed him against the wall, twisting his arm hard. Jameson opened his mouth to call for help, but Nico growled, "Try to make a noise and I will kill you before the scream leaves your lips. Clear?"

Jameson nodded. Matt and I approached in Jameson's line of sight. His dark eyes sparked when he saw me. He recognized me, as all demititans apparently did. "Answer my questions – quietly – or my friend will be forced to hurt you. Understand?" Jameson nodded again. "The cell block – are the Seven and Calypso there?"

"Yes," Jameson grunted, his voice constricted with pain from the pressure Nico was still applying to his arm.

"How do we get there?" I asked.

Jameson didn't answer right away, so Nico twisted his arm even hard. Jameson's face spasmed in pain. "Go past the next three connecting hallways," he said. "You'll find a door marked staircase A. Take it down to the basement. Once you're down there, you'll find a door to your right. That's the entrance to the cell block area."

"How many guards?" Matt asked.

"Five," Jameson said.

"Thanks," I said, smiling, then I slammed Jameson's head hard with my right hand, knocking him out. This was proving a useful trick. Nico let go of the demititan, allowing him to drop to the floor. He pulled out more zip ties, binding Jameson. We dragged him into the nearest room, which just so happened to a broom closet. Sometimes clichés like that actually happen. Who knew?

We continued down the hall, following Jameson's directions. Sure enough, right where he said there would be, there was a door labelled staircase A. We went through, going down the steps quietly and emerging through the door at the bottom into the basement hallway. Again, as Jameson had said, there was a door to our right. I heard muffled voice on the other side – the guards. Blood roared in my ears. I drew my sword, as did Matt and Nico. Once again, Nico counted down and… we burst through the door.

"Jameson, it's about time you – wait a second, you're intruders!"

"Oh, you noticed?" I said. I switched immediately to trident mode and blasted the speaker and two other guards, knocking them out. Matt and Nico moved quickly. They engaged the last two guards, but they were armed only with batons. Matt and Nico sliced through the batons with their blades, then bashed them over the heads. We dragged all five guards into the corner and bound them just as we'd done everyone else so far. I finally looked around at the space we were in. We were in the entry room of the cell block area. A desk with computer monitors stood in the center of the room. Two sets of keys sat on the desk. In the back of the room a narrow hall led off with metal cell doors on either side. I gulped. This was it.

"You two get them out," Matt said, his face pale. I could tell by the look on his face that he needed a minute to prepare himself. None of us knew for sure what state our family was in, after all. "I'll stand guard in here. See if there are any useful supplies in the desk."

I nodded to him. Nico and I each grabbed a set of keys and went into the cell hall. We each took a door across from each other. I looked over at Nico, a huge lump in my throat. Nico smiled reassuringly. "It's okay," he said. "We've got this."

I turned to my cell door and tried a key. Miraculously, my first key was the right one. I turned the lock and pushed open the door.

The room was small, dank, and made entirely of stone. In the center of the room, there was a chair bolted to the floor. An impish figure with overgrown dark hair was slumped in the chair. His wrists were bound by metal manacles, which had wires attaching them to a car battery situated underneath the chair. The figure stirred slightly when I entered the room. "Come back for more, eh?" he croaked. "Bring it on _bastardos_. I can take it."

"Un… uncle Leo?" I stammered.

His head shot up. A patchy beard had grown on his face. His typically bright eyes were foggy, but I could see a spark appear when he saw me. "Elizabeth? Is that you?"

I choked back a sob. "It's me," I managed. "I'm… I'm here to break you out."

"A jailbreak, huh?" Uncle Leo said. "Are we gonna escape down a trash compactor? Can I be Princess Leia?"

I couldn't help but laugh. Despite the hell he'd no doubt been through, he still managed to crack a joke. "Does that make me Luke, then?" I asked, hurrying over.

"I don't know, Elizabeth," he said. "You're definitely _not_ too short to be a Stormtrooper. Maybe you can be Chewbacca?"

After a few tries, I managed to undo his manacles. With some help from me, Uncle Leo managed to get to his feet. He was completely covered in bruises. His clothes were mere rags. Still he seemed much better than I'd expected him to be. He seemed to have read my thoughts. "You're probably wondering how I kept my rugged good looks while locked up," he said. "Well, you see, that Physician's Cure I took all those years ago has had some lasting side effects."

"'Rugged good looks'?" I repeated sarcastically.

Uncle Leo stuck his tongue out at me. I helped him take his first few steps, but after that he seemed to regain the strength in his legs and began walking on his own. As we emerged from his cell, Nico was coming out across the way supporting Aunt Calypso. When she and Leo saw each other they embraced, kissing quickly. Aunt Calypso was covered in bruises just like Uncle Leo, but in addition she was missing her fingernails. The sight made my stomach churn. Even so, like Uncle Leo, she was in better shape than I'd expected. Must've been due to her titan heritage.

"You're alive," she said simply to Uncle Leo.

"Course I am babe," Uncle Leo said. "Gonna take more than that to stop a Super Sized McShizzle like me."

Nico motioned to me to move on to the next cell, giving the couple a moment. Nico and I took cells across from each other once again and opened our doors. This time it took me a few tries to get the right key. When I finally opened the door, I found a room much like the room Uncle Leo had been locked in, though the figure inside was not locked to a chair. Instead, she sat on the ground, manacles wrapped around her ankles and attached to the floor. Her dark hair was frizzy and all over the place. Cuts ran up each of her tan arms. She stirred and looked up at me. Aunt Piper's kaleidoscope eyes widened in surprise. Her throat was swollen, I noticed now, and a dark purple-black color. Tears dripped from her eyes. I ran over to her. "Are you okay, Aunt Piper?" I asked urgently.

She clawed at her throat. I got the message. She couldn't speak. Her most powerful skill was charmspeak, so the demititans had disabled it by robbing her of her voice. Renewed rage shot through my veins. "Let's get you out of here," the deepness of my voice surprising even me. After a couple of tries, I got her out of her shackles.

She was in far worse shape than Uncle Leo. I pulled her to her feet. She was quite light. Much lighter than she should've been. I could feel her ribs through the rag of a shirt she was wearing. I clenched my jaw. Practically carrying her, we made it out into the hall.

Just like with Uncle Leo and Aunt Calypso, Nico was emerging from his cell at the same time, helping Uncle Jason out. Uncle Jason's breath came in short gasps. He was covered in cuts and bruises just like his wife. When he saw Aunt Piper, his eyes lit up at first, but then filled with rage upon seeing what the demititans had done to his wife.

He rushed forward, gasping as he did so. They kissed. Uncle Leo and Aunt Calypso came over, taking their weight from Nico and I. Uncle Leo took Jason. "I got you, _hermano._ Matt found some ambrosia and Nectar in the desk," Uncle Leo said softly. "Let's get some of that into you, Beauty Queen, Superman."

Uncle Jason looked over at me as Leo helped him down the hall. "Thank you," he said.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Nico softly after they'd made it into the entry room.

"They had him in some kind of sealed container thing," Nico explained. "They had the oxygen level set really low so that he was on the verge of suffocating constantly."

I clenched my fists. "I'm going to rip Gaius limb from limb."

"And you will," Nico said, his confidence in me coming through in his voice. "But not tonight. We have to get everyone out of here. Then we can figure out how to make Gaius pay for everything he's done."

We moved on to the next set of doors. After a few tries, I got this door open as well. I almost threw up when I saw what they'd done to the occupant. Uncle Frank's hulking frame was bound to a metal table, his arms outstretched, stakes driven through them. Uncle Frank's chest heaved with each breath, sounding ragged and painful. He looked over at me when I came in. His eyes were wild. "Am… am I dreaming?" he muttered. "Elizabeth… is that you?"

"It's me, Uncle Frank," I confirmed, holding back a sob. "And you aren't dreaming." I ran over, quickly unbinding him. I almost wanted to pull the stakes out of his body, but I remembered something Theo had told me before – with puncture wounds, if you don't have the supplies to bind them, it's better to leave the object in the person. Otherwise, the bleeding would get worse. Instead, with effort, I helped him sit up. I tried to help him stand up, but I staggered under his weight. "Can… can you support yourself?" I asked, straining.

Uncle Frank tried, but his legs were trembling badly. "Legs are too weak," he muttered. "Sorry I'm so useless, Elizabeth."

"Stop that," I chided. I turned my head towards the cell door and yelled, "I could use a hand in here!"

Uncle Leo and Nico came rushing into the room. They took Frank off of me, draping his arms over their shoulders. "Hey big guy," Leo said. "Let's get some ambrosia in you, man."

I followed them back out into the hall. Aunt Hazel stood at the door of the cell Nico had last gone in. Her arm was bent at a bad angle. When she saw Frank she rushed over, standing on her tiptoes and quickly kissing him, tears running down both their faces. "Thank gods," Hazel said. "Your stick, did they –"

Uncle Frank shook his head. "I think it's still at home. They wanted to torture me, not kill me. Not right away, anyway."

With Nico occupied helping Uncle Leo essentially carry Uncle Frank, that meant that the last two cells were up to me. I felt a great deal of trepidation welling up inside me. These last two cells… they had to contain my parents. I stood outside the first of the two doors, the key in the lock, my palms sweaty. I turned the key.

Inside the cell, my mom dangled from the ceiling by chains. She had cuts and bruises everywhere, and worse than any of the others so far. A streak of her blonde hair had gone completely white. I remembered from a dream that when Mom was a teen, she'd had a grey streak in that exact same spot. Apparently the stress of the torture had brought it back out. But perhaps worst of all, small bumps covered every inch of her skin, twin puncture marks in each. Spider bites. Gaius had subjected my mother to her worst fear.

Mom didn't see me immediately when I entered the room. Her eyes were shut tight. She twisted in the chains on the ceiling. "Please. Please no. No more spiders please don't." Her voice was pleading, a whimper. My heart broke. A kid should never have to hear their mom whimper like that.

"Mom, it's me," I sobbed.

Her eyes snapped open. She gasped looking at me. "E-Elizabeth?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you," I said, coming over to undo her chains.

"You – it's dangerous," she said.

Even now, Mom was worried about _my_ safety. After I undid the shackles, I grabbed onto her, holding my mother close. Tears flowed freely and my breath came in broken sobs. "I missed you so much, Mom," I sobbed.

I felt Mom shake, crying too. After a moment, we broke apart, sniffling. "E-everyone else?" Mom asked.

"Got them out already," I said. "Except… Dad. He's in the last cell. Right across the hall."

"I'll help you get him out," she said.

"Mom, are you sure?" I asked. "You should take a moment. The others found some ambrosia. You should go eat some of that."

"Let's go get your father first," she insisted.

Not one to argue with my mother when she set her mind to something, I helped her to her feet – and after only a slight stagger, she managed to support herself. Together we went across the hall.

Dad was in worse shape than anyone else, except _maybe_ Uncle Frank. He was manacled straight to the back wall of the cell by his wrists. Both of his legs were twisted unnaturally. Like Mom, he also had a white streak in his hair. Both of his eyes had been blackened and looked sunken into his skull. His bruises were deeper and nastier than anyone else's. He was covered in deep cuts, but his skin was also cracked all over the place from what looked like… well, dryness. Next to me, Mom growled. "I'm going to tear apart whoever is responsible for this."

Dad stirred. When he opened his eyes, I noticed the sea green color of his irises was a lot duller than it should've been. For a second, it seemed like he didn't recognize us, or he couldn't believe what he was seeing was real. But finally, realization dawned on him. "Wise Girl," he croaked. "Elizabeth." His voice was brittle. His throat sounded drier than the Sahara Desert.

Mom and I rushed forward. With fumbling fingers, I undid his shackles. Mom and I caught him, lowering him to the floor. We huddled together hugging and all of us bawling our eyes out. Mom and Dad kissed for a long moment, but for once I didn't look away grossed out. I was just so relieved to see both of them again, alive.

"Your lips," Mom said. "They're so dry."

"Well I haven't had water since they locked me up," Dad croaked. "So that probably has something to do with it."

"Dad," I said shocked, "you were captured over a month ago. How are you still alive? You should've died of dehydration!"

He shrugged helplessly. "Son of Poseidon thing?" he guessed.

Mom and I had to carry Dad between us, as both of his legs were totally out of commission. Back in the main room, Nico had taken over guard duty. Meanwhile, Matt was reuniting with everyone and tending to their wounds as best he could. Mom and Dad both began sobbing again when they saw Matt. After carefully making sure that Matt had Dad's weight, I extricated myself from the hug and walked over to Nico, still sniffling. I noticed that Nico's eyes were rimmed with red, too. "What next?" I asked.

He looked worried. "We have got to make it back to where we came in. But I'm concerned. Everybody's in worse shape than I had imagined, even with the help from the ambrosia. I'd expected cruel treatment but not… not outright torture. It's sick… Anyway… it'll take us a while to get out of here with the state everyone is in. And the longer we're here, the longer we risk getting caught. If we got into a fight… well none of them are in fighting shape and we only have the three swords anyway."

"Four," Dad managed to say. He'd apparently been listening in the whole time. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ball point pen. "I still have Riptide." I looked at it in marvel. No matter what the demititans did, they couldn't keep that pen from his pocket. With some effort, Dad uncapped the pen, and the celestial bronze blade sprung to life.

Nico sighed. "That's all well and good, but Percy – and no offence here – but you're in no shape to fight right now."

"I am," Mom said, taking Riptide from Dad and spinning the sword once to test the balance. "I can fight, if it comes to it."

"Mom, are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded resolutely. "I'm sick of being a damsel in distress. It's time to be a hero again."

"We may be in bad shape, but I know we can get out of here," Uncle Frank said.

"Yeah, I mean we beat the freaking giants together," Uncle Leo put in. "We can escape a little base. Plus this time it's more than just the seven of us. There are eleven of us this time."

Nico sighed. "Well it's not like we've got a lot of other options anyway. Alright, listen. We should go ahead and try to move now. Stay quiet. Move as quickly as possible."

Slowly, everyone clambered to their feet. Nico and Uncle Jason carried my dad between them, Nico holding out his sword with his free hand. Aunt Hazel and Aunt Piper helped Uncle Frank, who seemed to have regained some strength in his legs but still needed support. Matt and Mom took the lead, swords held aloft. Aunt Calypso, Uncle Leo, and I took the rear. And then, staggering slowly, we made our way out of the cell block.

It was slow moving. With everyone in as bad a shape as they were, it took us at least ten minutes to get up the stairs to the first floor alone. Then at the top of the stairs, we were forced to stop and let everyone catch their breaths. Finally, we got moving again, Matt and Mom still in the lead. And I remained in the back, my own sword drawn.

"Hey Elizabeth?" Uncle Leo asked quietly.

"Hm?" I asked, glancing around the corner we'd just passed nervously.

"Can I see your phone?" he asked. I passed him the device wordlessly. "Holy Hephaestus," he said when he took the device, noticing the messed up screen. "What'd you do to this?"

"Long story," I said. "Why so you need it anyway?"

"Backup plan," he said simply. "Sorry in advance, by the way. I'll build you a new one." And with that he began pulling apart my phone, recrafting it into… something else. Gods only knew with Uncle Leo. Actually, correction, not even the gods knew with Uncle Leo. But with him, it had to be something good.

We continued creeping through the halls. Luckily, we didn't run into anyone. But every little noise made me jump out of my skin. Each adjoining hall we passed seemed like a corridor down which death could be hiding, waiting. The walls seemed to press in on me. I was forcibly reminded of the Labyrinth. It took us a full fifteen minutes to make it back into the Great Hall. "We're close," I muttered under my breath. We staggered towards the main doors.

The lights came on all at once. Doors banged open all around the room. On the balconies above, dozens of demititans in full armor emerged, bows at the ready, nocked and drawn taut. A full cohort's worth of dracaenae slithered into the room at ground level, spears pointed directly at us. Up on the raised split level at the back of the room, a half dozen demititans in full armor wielding swords and shields stood at the ready. The middle of their line split open and two more figures stepped forward. One of the two wore full armor that looked like it was covered in frost. Next to him stood a man who looked like he'd been dragged out of bed not too long ago. His blond hair was smushed on one side. He wore a plain white t-shirt and checkered pajama bottoms. His intelligent golden eyes were framed, oddly enough, by glasses. He had strapped a sword around his waist hastily. Despite how leisurely he looked, he was still as intimidating as ever. His golden eyes sparked.

Gaius smiled at me. "Elizabeth! Long time no see!"

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 **AN: See y'all soon with chapter 20!**


	21. Chapter 20: Gaius Delivers a Monologue

**AN: Hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter! Let's jump straight into the review responses!**

 **From PaL14: "** **I've been binge reading this series since Sunday. I honestly cannot believe I didn't stumble across this masterpiece yet. This review comes from the bottom of my heart for once and not sarcastically. I am officially inspired by the Elizabeth Jackson series. I don't have a habit of leaving reviews at every chapter or book if it is a series so I may miss out some great points in your work but I'll do my best to remember which parts stuck out to me the most.** **The best part about Elizabeth is that she isn't a Mary Sue. She is an amazing character with amazing abilities and disabilities alike. She has many flaws which makes her seem more real. And this is a trait I don't see in many OC's. The Seven getting captured was an amazing highlight cuz that showed no matter how good you are there will always be someone better.** **Elizabeth's anxiety issues were well placed and the way she is overcoming them is a very accurate description of it. The fight scenes were very well written.** **Overall, I think I may have!issued a few gazillion points but I hope I see your name (Whatever it may be) on a bestseller in the upcoming years as you truly deserve it...** **Quick question, What is the veil? Is it the Mist? Or a proper veil of significance in mythology?** **And with that I sign off, hoping to see a new chapter soon...** **Peace and Love."  
A: Hello! I'm very happy that you've discovered the series and have enjoyed it so much! I really have put a lot of work into it, so I'm always happy to have more people that enjoy the series. I appreciate what you had to say about Elizabeth's character. I tried very hard to make sure she was strong but not perfect, as far too often OCs are. Mary Sues/Gary Stus aren't interesting to me because they're not realistic - everyone has flaws. And Elizabeth's anxiety was a very intentional move on my part because I wanted to show that issues like anxiety and depression don't have to keep you from being amazing. As far as the Seven getting kidnapped, I always wanted to do that from the very beginning, partly because it would really increase the stakes for Elizabeth and show that even they aren't perfect, either. And I'm also glad that you enjoyed the fight scenes. I always spend a lot of time trying to visualize the fights in my head before I actually write them, because I really want them to come across well. And hopefully someday I will publish my own original novel, so when/if that ever happens, I hope you enjoy that, too. So thank you for all of your compliments! As for your question about the veil... well you'll find out this chapter.**

 **From CowTits the Udderly Glorious: "Well. I've spent the last two weeks or so reading this series, and I've finally caught up to the most recent chapter. What you've managed to build here is a fantastic story that I hope continues in full force. You have a legitimate talent. I love your realistic approach, and how you make it work."  
A: Thank you so much for your compliments! I especially appreciate that you enjoy my realistic approach, as that's something I've been very careful to try and do well. I'm glad you've enjoyed the series so far, and I certainly plan on continuing in full force to the story's completion.**

 **From tomhur18: "Oh man things are heating up. But don't worry Elizabeth is gonna get the 7 out of there...I hope..."  
A: They certainly are heating up! As for Elizabeth getting the 7 out, well you'll have to read and see.**

 **From wolfstin: "Oh my gods. Every time. This is just unfair. It was a good part, too! It's like when you're reading in class for whatever reason and you have to stop at right before a battle, or something like that. I just feel like there's going to be an all out battle between Elizabeth and Gaius. I hope it's in the next chapter, at least."  
A: I know, haha, sorry. Well, not really. As I've said before, I do love me a cliffhanger. As for what happens between Elizabeth and Gaius, you're gonna have to read to find out.**

 **From angstyteenagetrash: "Kickass jackson bros!"  
A: Yes, Elizabeth and Matt certainly are kickass when they work together.**

 **From RockRoy: "Ooh another two chapters :) Yeey, Elizabeth made up with Joce and Matt, but boo, you went all cliffhanger on us again :( Please tell me she gets to whoop his ass soon? Gaius is too damn smug for his own good..."  
A: Yep, another two chapters. And yeah, I couldn't keep Matt and Jocelyn mad at Elizabeth forever, haha. She needs them, after all. And yeah, I do love cliffhangers. Gaius is very smug, but as for if Elizabeth whoops his ass... well, you'll have to read and see.**

 **From Person: "Ahhhhhhh! Gaius is back! Also I have been looking forward for this chapter for more than a year. It did not disappoint! Thank you so much (though probably not as much as the 7 need therapy...oh wait...no. I am more grateful than the need of therapy for tortured souls...yeah, THANKS) this story is nearing the end and what about the veil? Will that be another plot twist? Oh, Bfalt1, you are becoming to much like a real author!"  
A: Yep, Gaius is back! I'm glad you've been looking forward to this part, because this finale is something I have been looking forward to sharing with you guys since before I started book 3. The Seven are definitely going to need therapy, that's probably true. As for the veil, don't you worry, I haven't forgotten. You'll find out what that's all about in this chapter. As for me becoming like a real author, I'm gonna take that as a compliment! So thank you!**

 **EllaAnnieGrace: "Way To Go, Gaius! You're able to look amusing and intimidating at the same time. And why the Glasses?-Victoria"  
A: It's a skill that very few people have - being in pjs and looking intimidating. As for the glasses, Gaius mentions the answer at the beginning, but it's not a huge detail so I'll just go ahead and tell you. He normally wears contacts and just didn't have time to put them in.**

 **Alright, that's all the review responses. Thank you everyone for all of your continued support! Let's get on with the chapter! DFTBA!**

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Chapter 20: Gaius Delivers His Biggest Monologue Yet

"I apologize for my appearance," Gaius went on, motioning at his pajamas. We repositioned ourselves so that Matt, Nico, and I stood in front of the rest of our family, swords held aloft. Mom stood slightly behind us, Riptide held firmly in front of her. In the very back, closest to the door, Leo was still fiddling with my phone. "I was woken up… oh, only about an hour ago when you first arrived. Didn't even take the time to put in my contacts before hurrying to the security room to watch you blunder your way through the base on our security cameras." _Of course_ there were security cameras. Gods we were idiots.

"And Matt," Gaius continued, "I must congratulate you on your promotion. I watched your fight against Drake with great interest. You'll make a fine leader for the Twelfth Legion. So, well done!" Matt tightened his grip on his sword. I pointed my own sword at Gaius. "That's enough," I growled.

Gaius laughed. "Defiant as ever. Though I must say, I'm sort of glad that you're here, Elizabeth. You're just in time for the main event. And I simply wouldn't feel right if I didn't get to share this monumental occasion with you."

My skin crawled. "What do you mean, 'main event'?"

"Elizabeth, let's just get out of here," Nico said lowly. He took a couple steps in front of Matt and I, holding his sword in both hands, slowly moving it back and forth, unsure which enemy to point it at.

"Sorry, Mr. di Angelo, but you all aren't going anywhere," Gaius said. "Make one move and my archers will turn those precious friends of yours into pincushions."

"What do you mean main event?" I asked again, louder. It wasn't like we could do anything else right now. The best we could manage was to keep Gaius talking while I tried to think of a plan.

Gaius glanced at a watch I hadn't noticed he was wearing before. "Well we've got about fifteen minutes. That should be plenty of time to explain to you what's about to happen. So a bit of backstory, then. As you probably know, I have been working on a way to destroy the gods since before we met. In fact, I've been working on the plan for roughly a decade now. But of course, the question is _how_. How does one destroy a god? I mean, for starters, they're immortal. And aside from that, the gods are incredibly powerful. Even on the rare occasions that gods have lost their immortality, they have almost always retained their super-human powers – far stronger than most demigods. So my problem is two-fold, see. Eventually, I stumbled upon an answer to both of those questions. For the immortality thing, I received a hint as to what could rob the gods of their immortality a while ago, but it took me until just after our first duel to get final confirmation." I clenched my robotic fist self-consciously. I remembered, back on the highway, Gaius talking about a missing prophecy – something Alex de Marco's mother may have seen glimpses of through the Mist. It was probably safe to assume that Gaius was talking about this prophecy, whatever it was. That this prophecy held the secret to robbing the gods of their immortality.

"But of course, the problem still remains that the gods are simply too powerful to take down," Gaius went on. "So way back when I was first formulating my plan, I got to thinking – where do the gods actually _get_ their power? The answer is, of course, in belief. Not direct belief in them, necessarily, but rather in continued praise of the legacy of Greece and Rome. As long as Western Civilization goes on, as long as the flame that started in Greece continues to burn, the gods have power.

"Now obviously dismantling Western Civilization is much too great an undertaking. Still, I felt I had stumbled upon the right idea when I thought about belief. But what could I do to rob the gods of their fuel source and deprive them of their powers. And then I finally realized – what if I could expose how awful the gods are to the entire mortal populace? What if I managed to convince millions of mortals that the gods are not only real, but that they should be hated? That they should be fought against? Why, that would cripple the Olympians' source of power!"

My stomach churned. This… this was bad. I _really_ did not like where this was going. Next to me, Matt made a sarcastic snort, unconvinced. "No one would believe you," he said. "The Mist is too strong! There's no way you could convince mortals that the gods are real, much less turn them against the gods!"

"Turning them against the gods is easy enough," Gaius said dismissively. "The gods _make_ that part easy by being petty, obtuse, and cruel. If you've never noticed these traits Matthew, I know that Elizabeth has." It was true. I thought about Hecate sending Theo, Jocelyn, and I on a ridiculous chase around the country to prove we were worthy of her help on our first quest. I thought about how little the gods had actually done to help with the war. I thought about how long it took Poseidon to actually come and talk to me after my family was taken, only for him to deliver a cryptic message. Certainly, I wasn't about to turn against Olympus – no matter what, they were still my family. But I could understand how easy it would be to hate them.

"But, I am glad you mentioned the Mist," Gaius continued. "This, of course, was the big road block. If I wanted to turn the mortals against the gods, I would need to do something about the Mist. The veil that separated our world from Mortal eyes would have to be destroyed." _The son of Kronos shall destroy the veil_ , Gwendolyn's voice rang in my head. I staggered slightly. I couldn't believe it. _This can't be happening_ , I thought, horrified.

Matt, on the other, still seemed unconvinced, though he was a lot less confident than he'd been just a moment ago. "But it's impossible to destroy the Mist," he said.

"Nothing's impossible, dear Matthew," Gaius chided. "Elizabeth, why don't you tell your brother and the rest of your family about the book _On the Mist_? I assume you've heard of it?"

I nodded. My mouth was dry, but I managed to say, "It's a spellbook. Written by Hecate herself. Gaius… stole it from her shortly after my first quest."

"And sent Hecate to Tartarus in god-binding chains to get her out of the way," Gaius confirmed. "I needed her out of the way, because I knew she would counter my attempts to work the spell. Of course, the spell itself is very complex. It require a potion which involves a vast array of exceedingly rare ingredients. One of which is a vast amount of magical blood, such as is found in demigods and demititans. Originally I was going to use Alex de Marco's blood after we killed him, but since you and Augustus saved him and killed my former compatriot Marina in the process" – Gaius's voice took a very slight edge when he mentioned Marina; clearly he was still upset about my killing of her – "I ended up using her blood as well. Additionally, the spell required three powerful magicians to work the magic. Now, I already had two of the best magicians who've ever lived on my command council. You remember the twins Andromeda and Caesaria, yes? But I still needed a third."

"Thus your quest into the Labyrinth to save Pasiphaë," Nico growled.

"Precisely," Gaius said. "And now, after years of work, the spell is nearing completion. Any moment now, the spell will finally be cast, truly and completely. The Mist will be no more."

An entire bowling alley dropped into my stomach at once. I staggered under the weight of what Gaius was about to do. "That's insane," Mom said, speaking up for the first time in this encounter. She looked green thinking about what Gaius was about to do. "Dissolving the Mist… it would cause absolute anarchy."

"Well that _is_ the general idea," Gaius said. "And I've designed things to help the anarchy along. I've increased monster presence in most major cities. That way, when the Mist does dissolve, the greatest number of people will be exposed to the truth the quickest. It'll make its way onto the national, even international, news almost immediately! Imagine it! People all around the country, all around the world even, waking up to find that the world they thought they knew was a lie. Monsters are real. The evidence will be right in front of them! And New Yorkers, especially…" Gaius laughed gleefully, the noise high and cruel, grating on me like nails on a chalkboard. "New Yorkers will wake up tomorrow and for the first tie see Olympus itself hovering hundreds of feet above the Empire State Building. Imagine all the confusion and terror. The panic. And that's where I'll come in. A voice to give them guidance, answers, and, most importantly, someone to blame: the gods of Olympus."

"But how do you plan on getting your propaganda message out there?" I asked. "How do you become the voice to guide them? It's not like you can broadcast to everyone in the world at once!"

"Actually, I can," Gaius said smugly. "If you'll recall, Elizabeth, before you and Augustus set out to save Alex de Marco, my former compatriot Marina made a phone call to everyone at Camp Half-Blood simultaneously. That was a test of the equipment I'd been developing. And the test was a resounding success. Since then, I've tapped my equipment into all the phone networks, internet networks, and television networks. After letting mortals experience the terrifying truth of their reality for a few hours, I'll broadcast to everyone on the planet. At precisely noon, I will be on every screen connected to any sort of network."

Matt, Nico, Mom, and I were shocked into silence. The rest of my family, who'd been quiet this whole time, slumped under the weight of Gaius's words. Except for Leo, who continued to tinker away with my phone. What was he up to…? Regardless, though, this was catastrophic. No Mist… what would the world be like…?

"Sir," Ivan said. "It's time."

"Excellent!" Gaius said, clapping his hands together once. "Let's watch, shall we?" He turned on one of the TV screens by him, which I'd almost forgotten were there I'd been so focused on Gaius. The TV showed what had to be security camera footage. The room in the screen was small. In the center was what looked like a huge cauldron. Standing around it at equidistant intervals were the twins, Andromeda and Caesaria, and Pasiphaë. As we watched, the liquid in the cauldron changed from a dull grey color to abalone white. A tower of Mist shot out of the top of the cauldron. More Mist was pulled into the tower from the surrounding air. Then, with a great blast, the cauldron seemed to suck in all of the Mist and then exploded. The Mist blasted apart and outwards, temporarily obscuring the camera in the spell chamber. A blast of wind rolled through the room. I had the sneaking suspicion that that blast of wind had been felt throughout the world all at once. And though there was no visual change for me, but I could almost sense the Mist's absence.

Gaius laughed loudly again, his voice full of mirth. "At last! After so long, I've at last succeeded!"

The camera footage on the TV cleared up. All three of the spell casters seemed to be winded. The cauldron was gone. One of the twins, I wasn't sure which, pulled a phone from her pocket, pressed a button, and held it to her ear. Gaius's phone went off instantly. He held up his finger to me. "Excuse me, one moment." He answered the twin's call. "Yes, I know. I was just watching it happen. You know what to do next." He immediately hung back up.

On the screen, the twin that had spoken to Gaius hung up her phone and nodded to her sister. Instantly, the two of them pulled daggers out of nowhere and started stabbing Pasiphaë over and over. The exhausted witch couldn't do anything as the twins killed her. I stared at the screen, my mouth agape. "You… you're having her killed?"

"Of course," Gaius said, shutting off the TV screen. "She was a maniac. I didn't want to keep her around. I only wanted her because she was useful. Now that she's fulfilled her purpoe, she's been disposed of. I cannot stand useless things.

"Speaking of useless things, it has been fun having the Seven and Calypso as captives the last month or so, but they are now past their usefulness to me as well. I was planning on executing them tomorrow in a special broadcast to demigods only, to really drive home how hopeless your situation is. But seeing as they're already out of their cells… well, at this point it would be more trouble than it's worth to force everyone back into their cells. Might as well kill the Seven now. Their dead bodies will have to suffice for that video message."

I tightened my grip on my sword. "That's not happening," I growled. "I won't let you."

"You have no way of stopping it, Elizabeth," he said. "You're far outnumbered. Of course, I'll have you merely knocked out and drop you off near your camp friends. We do still have our prophesized fight, after all. But I'm afraid that no one else will be allowed to leave here alive."

"Why don't we fight right here, right now?" I spat. "Just you and I. If we have to fight someday anyway, what difference does the timing make?"

"The timing makes all the difference," Gaius said. "And it's not time yet. You should know that by now."

"How would I know that?" I asked. "You keep mentioning this supposed prophecy between us, but you never tell me what it says."

Gaius tilted his head, apparently confused by this. "You mean… you _still_ don't know the prophecy? _He still_ hasn't told you? I thought for sure after the Labyrinth quest…"

"What are you talking about?" I growled.

"Nico di Angelo," Gaius said simply. "He's known the prophecy about you and I for years. Since before you were born even, when it was still unclear who that prophecy was about. But since it's become clear… I just can't believe that you _still_ haven't told her, Mr. di Angelo."

The world stopped spinning beneath my feet. I looked to Nico, who refused to look back at me. Instead, he pointed his sword towards Gaius. "How do you know that?!"

"How else?" Gaius asked. "I saw it in a dream, of course. As a son of Kronos, I have the remarkable ability to peer through time with ease when I dream. It's not a perfect system, and I'm not always able to see everything I want or need to see, but I did see you, the day the prophecy was revealed. I know you were there."

Nico cursed. I gaped at him. "You knew? You've known all along, ever since this war began, and you've never told me?!"

"Elizabeth, prophecies come true whether you know what they say or not," Nico said. "I didn't want to worry you…"

Gaius laughed cruelly. "A noble sentiment, but flawed logic!"

"It doesn't matter now," Nico said. He finally turned his head to look at me. "When we get out of here, I'll tell you. I swear it on the River Styx. I'll tell you everything I know about the prophecy, including its contents."

"That would be all well and good if you were getting out of here," Gaius said. "But you're not."

"Actually," Uncle Leo piped up from the back, "I believe that we are. Also, you'll want to have a contractor, perhaps some construction guys, come in to fix the damages after we leave."

Gaius's eye twitched. Clearly, Uncle Leo had already learned how to annoy Gaius. "What in the name of Kronos's sweaty underpants are you talking about? _What_ damages?"

"These damages," Leo said simply, holding up the device he'd built out of my phone.

At that moment, the wall behind us was blasted apart. A deafening roar shook the room. A massive bronze dragon set down in the new hole in the wall.

Festus had arrived.

* * *

Festus spat flames, destroying the monsters nearest to us. Chaos broke loose. The archers up on the balconies fired their arrows at Festus, the projectiles bouncing harmlessly off his bronze scales. Gaius yelled out, trying to regain control of the situation, but it was in vain. Still, we weren't out of the woods yet. The hordes of dracaena on our level charged. Matt, Mom, Nico and I sliced outwards, killing the first few. Festus torched several more. But there were simply too many. Worse, after a moment, Gaius's orders started to have some effect. The enemy started to form ranks.

Suddenly, Nico yelled. The floor in front of us split open and a horde of undead warriors climbed out. Our new allies pushed against Gaius's forces. A row of skeletal archers started firing at the demititans in the balconies. Meanwhile, Nico dashed forward, jumping through a gap in the enemy forces and running straight at Gaius and his guards. "Nico, wait!" I yelled. But the gap had already closed.

"Everyone, climb on Festus, now!" Uncle Leo shouted.

"Is there enough room?" Uncle Jason asked.

"There's gonna have to be," Leo replied. He'd already climbed on at the front. He started lobbing fireballs of his own at the monsters. A volley of arrows flew straight at him. Aunt Calypso called out and blasted the arrows away with her magic. Then she turned to help Aunt Piper up onto Festus's back. While Aunt Calypso and Uncle Jason helped get everyone one by one onto Festus's back, Mom, Matt, and I had inserted ourselves into the defensive ring Nico's warriors had formed. We stabbed monsters, killing them left and right. Ivan and the rest of Gaius's personal guard had entered the fray, but before they could reach us, Uncle Leo had blasted them with a fireball, scattering the warriors. Ivan continued forward, though, his armor steaming. Mom ran out of our line to meet him. My stomach dropped, but I needn't have worried.

Ivan laughed. "You try to fight me? In your state?" Mom used his distraction to immediately disarm him.

"Never underestimate a daughter of Athena," she growled. She slammed her hilt over his head, knocking the demititan unconscious.

"Holy shit," Matt said. "Mom, that was awesome!"

In the back of the room, Gaius and Nico were fighting each other. Their swords whirled through the air, clashing with a speed and intensity that I'd rarely ever seen. They were both incredibly skilled swordsmen. Still, I had the feeling that Nico was actually better than Gaius. After all, they were evenly matched and Nico was expending a great deal of energy maintaining his army of the dead, which had to be exhausting. I had a feeling that if he wasn't doing that, he could've beaten Gaius fairly quickly.

Behind us, Uncle Jason and Aunt Calypso had just managed to get Dad onto Festus's back. Everyone else but the two of them and the four of us fighting were already on. "Annabeth, you're next!" Uncle Jason called.

"No, you take your seat!" Mom called back. "I can get myself on!" She sliced a monster vertically in half, whirled, slicing an arrow clean out of the air, then turned to Matt and I. "Kids, let's go!"

"What about Nico?" Matt asked.

Mom looked on the verge of tears, but she said, "He's buying us time. There's no other reason he'd go after Gaius. We have got to use the opportunity he's giving us to get out of here."

"We're _not_ leaving without him, Mom," I said firmly. "He's part of the family, too!"

Before Mom could argue, an arrow appeared out of nowhere, piercing her shoulder. Mom screamed in pain, falling forwards into Matt's arms. I immediately switched to trident mode and blasted the offending archer. He was thrown against the wall behind him with such force that he actually bounced off and toppled over the banister in front of him. There was an audible crunch when he hit the floor. I wasn't sure if he'd survived. At the moment, I didn't care.

Mom was groaning in pain, gripping her shoulder, blood soaking her rag shirt. "Get her on Festus right now!" I shouted at Matt.

He nodded, pulled Mom up and hurrying her over to the bronze dragon. I turned back around, trying to get Nico's attention. "Let's go!" I shouted over the chaos.

"Get out of here!" Nico shouted back. "I'll be fine!"

As he said it though, his sword swings started to slow. Before then, he and Gaius had been evenly matched. Now Nico was on the defensive. He needed help. I pushed my way between the undead warriors and fought my way through the horde of monsters separating me from Nico and Gaius.

Meanwhile, as I ran forward, killing monster after monster, Nico continued to slow down. Gaius laughed. "Maintaining this army is taking too much out of you _old man_ ," he taunted. Nico didn't respond. He looked bad. A cold sweat coated his face. What little color he'd had was completely drained.

I fought my way closer. I had to get there before something bad happened.

Gaius and Nico crossed blades once… twice… three more times. Then Gaius interlocked their hilts and twisted. Nico's sword was ripped from his grip. Gaius pulled back his sword, then thrust forward. His blade went straight through Nico's stomach. "NO!" I yelled, my voice coming out as a guttural scream. I ripped through the remaining few monsters separating me from them.

What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Gaius ripped his sword out of Nico's gut. Nico dropped, slowly, to his knees. My feet pounded up the steps separating us. Gaius was turning towards me, but not fast enough to block my attack. I sliced upwards with my sword. The tip of my blade sliced into the left side of Gaius's face, cutting upwards through his face, breaking his glasses, and finally moving out of range of his face just above his left eye.

Time resumed to normal. Gaius fell to his own knees, crying out in pain, dropping his sword and gripping the left side of his face, blood soaking through his hand. I raised my sword to strike him down, once and for all, but the son of Kronos still had his wits about him. He thrust out his free hand, hitting me with his titan force blast thing. I flew backwards ten feet, back down the steps. I clambered back to my feet, out for blood, ready to kill Gaius.

Gaius had climbed back to his as well. He'd picked his sword back up. The entire left side of his face was a bloody mess. Before I could charge him, Nico, still on his knees, his entire midsection soaked in blood, thrust out his own hand. Two undead warriors grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me backwards. I tried to break free, but their grip was like steel.

"No!" I shouted. "NICO!"

All around the room, Nico's undead warriors were starting to crumble to dust. The defensive ring around Festus was breaking up. Monsters were starting to get through. Festus and Uncle Leo were killing them all for now, but it was unclear how much longer they'd be able to hold them off. Outside I heard the unmistakable sound of backup coming.

The two warriors who'd forcibly dragged me to safety threw me to the ground at Festus's rear legs, then burst apart. I climbed back to my feet, determined to kill Gaius for this. Before I could, a hand grabbed me roughly from Festus's back. It was Matt. He was so far back on the dragon's back that he was practically sitting on Festus's tail. There was an open spot in front of him, right behind Mom. A spot for me.

"We have to go!" he yelled. "Now!"

"But Nico!"

"It's too late," Matt said. "He's gone. If we don't leave now, we're all dead! Now get on!"

"But –"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!" Matt bellowed. Summoning strength I didn't realize he had, Matt hoisted me onto Festus's back with one hand. "Uncle Leo, go NOW!"

"Roger that," Uncle Leo called from the front. Festus turned back out into the night. Sure enough, reinforcements were indeed on the way. About a hundred monsters were marching towards us from the direction of the barracks. Festus ran forwards, cracking the patio and stepping down on to the driveway. He was struggling to get airborne under all of our weight. The monsters from inside were running after us, following us into the night. The reinforcements were getting close.

From several people in front of me, Dad suddenly let out a guttural yell. The fountain in the middle of Gaius's vast roundabout shuddered, then blasted apart. Pipes throughout the grounds of Gaius's base exploded, ripping apart the turf, sending debris flying and scattering Gaius's forces. Dad almost toppled off the side of Festus, now unconscious, but Aunt Calypso, who was sitting right behind him, grabbed hold to keep him steady.

Finally, Festus had gained enough speed. He took off, sending us rocketing into the air. Gaius's fortress dropped away below us. I sobbed into my mother's back, overcome by my emotions. Yes, I had my parents back. But Nico was dead.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, there's only one more chapter to go. I'll see you guys with the last chapter on Sunday. See y'all then!**


	22. Chapter 21: It's the End of the World

**AN: As promised, here's the last chapter. It is still Sunday where I live, but just barely, so I'm sorry for everyone who was waiting all day for this chapter. I got a little busier today than I'd anticipated. But anyway, here you are, the final chapter of Elizabeth Jackson and the Veil's Destruction. Let's do review responses real quick first.**

 **First, from J. Cage: "** **miss me? probably didn't. Killer chapter as usual."  
A: I did miss seeing your reviews actually. I really like seeing familiar names review. And thanks for the compliment. Though possibly that's a pun about what happened last chapter...?**

 **From EllaAnnieGrace: "I was so pissed off I was tempted to not review in protest, but, I realized it would be futile. Killing off two Main character from the original series' in two books. YOU ARE MAKING MAD!-Victoria"  
A: I would say I'm sorry, but I was actually aiming to make people mad, so I accomplished my mission. But yeah. I did not kill either Nico or Thalia off lightly, rest assured. But both of these are very important deaths in the development of both Elizabeth as a character and the plot of the story in general. I promise you there is a reason for everything I do, even if I'm a little bit evil sometimes.**

 **From tomhur18: "NOOOOOOO NICO!** **Also CALLED IT! I knew the veil had something to do with the mist"  
A: I know, Nico's death was rough. And yes, you did call it. Excellent job predicting that!**

 **From unicute17: "You're so cruel to us poor readers! NICOOOOOOOO! Does he die? Does he live? I'm reading this during study hall and my teacher is looking at me like I'm crazy! I'm glad Matt is becoming more confident in his praetorship tho! AWESOME AS ALWAYS!** **-Uni"  
A: I know, I'm absolutely evil. I can confirm that Nico is, in fact, dead. So yeah. Sorry about that. I'm sure your teacher was very perplexed watching you in study hall as you read last chapter. And yeah, Matt's got another big test of his leadership skills in this chapter, so look forward to that. I'm glad you still thought my chapter was awesome despite how evil I am. So thank you.**

 **From wolfstin: "Thanks, that wasn't too bad of a cliffhanger. I honestly am glad about that. Thanks. Also, thanks for killing off Nico, that was great."  
A: Well I'm glad that last chapter wasn't too bad of a cliffhanger for you. As for the Nico part, not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I'm gonna say thanks anyway. Every time I kill a character off it is for very intentional reasons, so you can bet Nico's death will have an impact to make.**

 **From RockRoy: "Great chapter. No way that that just happened :( Aah, we finally get the big bad plan, but I take it that the consequences are for book 5? Thanks for the face slash for Gaius, not exactly the revenge I had in mind, but it is a great start. Can't wait for book 5 :)"  
A: Glad you enjoyed the chapter despite how evil I am. And yes, it did just happen. And yep, Gaius's big plan is finally revealed - well most of it, anyway. But yes, the big consequences of his actions won't be seen until book 5. And yeah, I didn't really want Gaius getting off scott free for what he did, either, so I thought the slash to his face was a nice bit to add in. And I'm looking forward to sharing book 5 with you guys, too!**

 **From Person: "Nico too! Nooooooooooo! Why? This reminds of the Harry Potter books where a person dies in every book. Thalia, Nico, Tony, many others, next thing I know you are going to kill Elizabeth! Don't make this become the Hamlet! Some one good has to live right?"  
A: I know, I'm evil. But trust me, there's a good reason for everyone I kill off. While I can't say that there won't be any more deaths, nor tell you who will die and who will live (because, you know, spoilers) I can say that there will be characters who make it all the way through the series alive.**

 **From Isak: "I can't believe you done this** **No seriously. How could you. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you lmao"  
A: Yeah, I'm pretty evil. I can't blame you there. But there is a reason for everything I do, so stick around and all will become clear in time.**

 **From AnamariaJovel: "I finally caught up and Im so emotionally scarred right now! How could you! First Thalia now Nico?! WHYYYYY? This was beautifully written as always but I mean...I just can't...IM SO HEARTBROKEN RIGHT NOW!"  
A: I'm glad you caught back up, but I'm sorry for scarring you. Well... not sorry exactly. But yeah. As I've said in other review responses, there is a reason for everything I do, including killing Thalia and Nico. So yeah. Anyway, I'm glad you still enjoyed my writing. And I hope your broken heart can forgive me in time.**

 **From PaL14: "Oh my gods, Nico knew?! And he didn't tell anyone?! I'm sure he told Will. Please let Will know so we can find out what it is! And you killed off Nico... Just why? Anyway, off of the moody stuff, Go Annabeth! She's so badass. And Go Matt as well! Can't wait for Sunday!** **Peace and Love."  
A: Yep, Nico has known the prophecy all along. As for whether or not Will knew... I can't answer because, well, spoilers on that. But the prophecy will be revealed in time, either way. And yeah, I really wanted to give Annabeth a cool moment, even if it was just a quick bash over the head of one of Gaius's lackeys. And yeah, Matt's really proving himself. Peace and love right back at you, hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **From The Son of Greece: "NOOOOOOO! Nico can't be dead! I keep trying to think of ways he could be alive but nothing! And now my brother is looking at me weirdly."  
A: Nico is dead. I know, I'm evil. But there is a method to my madness and a reason for everything I do. And sorry to get you weird looks from your brother. Hopefully he dropped the matter haha.**

 **From wolfstin: "I just now realized that wasn't actually canon (even though I want it too be so badly, or I did before you went and done killed Nico and Thaila). I realized that, hey, Nico is still alive maybe. I was actually pretty mad at you for killing him too. I also realized that you killed Thaila (Thaila? Thaila? Zeus' daughter? Thaila. Thalia. Spelling? Words?) and Nico, both of which were the greek counter parts of Jason and Hazel (I really hoped I used the right wording for that because in my head, that sounded all smart and such), so, are you going to kill Percy or what? Unless Rick Riordan threw a curve ball and changed all of his books so there's a child of Neptune that you could kill, if you're going to keep this track record up of killing the Big Three's children, you can't... really do that... I mean, in theory, you could kill Percy, but. I mean, who would? Just so you know, that's me just telling you not to and please because I would actually murder you slowly and painfully."  
A: I wouldn't blame you for murdering me slowly and painfully for that. I would murder me slowly and painfully for killing Percy, too. I hadn't actually thought about killing off Nico and Thalia as kids of the Big Three before. I'd just thought about it as killing off important mentor figures to Elizabeth. I don't normally like to give out spoilers, but in this case I will give you a minor one: I am not going to kill Percy off. He's safe from the kill list.**

 **Anyway, that's all the reviews from last chapter. Thank you all for your continued support, especially as I continue to do evil things like kill off beloved characters such as Thalia and Nico. I really do appreciate all the support you all have given me and this series over the last two years. Now, at last, it's time for the final chapter. As usual, I will be doing a brief list of things you can expect from me moving forward, such as a tentative release window for the last book, what I'll be up to between books, and of course, the final review responses. That should be getting posted on Tuesday. In the meantime, enjoy the final chapter and DFTBA!**

* * *

Chapter 21: It's the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Like Shit

About five minutes out from Gaius's fortress, Uncle Leo shouted from the front of Festus, "Where we going? Camp Half-Blood?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer. Luckily, I didn't have to. "Actually, set course for Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands!" Matt yelled back.

If Uncle Leo found the directions odd, he didn't say anything about it. Festus changed course ever-so-slightly. I sniffled, no longer able to cry anymore but still feeling like I had to. I couldn't believe everything that had just happened. Matt touched my shoulder from behind me, which made me jump slightly. "Elizabeth," he croaked, his voice choked with emotion. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay," I managed, still facing forward and staring at the back of Mom's blood soaked shirt. She seemed to be only half-conscious now, with the blood loss. I kept worrying she'd slip off.

"I just… it was too late and… I didn't want to lose you, too," Matt continued, his voice breaking on the last part.

"I understand, I really do," I said flatly, still facing forward. "I needed to be yelled at. I just… I need a bit."

"Yeah… yeah okay," Matt said.

We fell silent again. No one had anything to say after that escape. My family was still reeling from their injuries and the death of Nico. Every once in awhile, someone would break out in a fresh bout of sobbing. A few times, the sobs were mine.

I'm not sure when it happened but eventually my physical and emotional exhaustion caught up with me and I drifted off into an uneasy sleep. Of course, I dreamt. The first part of my dream picked up right where my last one left off – Eliana in the back of a town car with the Chicago mayor. "We've prepared your speech for you," Eliana was saying, pulling some papers out of her bag and passing them to the mayor. "The plan is to have you wait about three hours after Gaius makes his big announcement to the world, which will happen at noon eastern time. That way it doesn't seem premeditated, but it's still early enough to capitalize on the confusion caused by the Mist's disappearance. You'll of course be the first politician to publicly declare your belief in what Gaius is saying and support of what he is trying to do. Other politicians will no doubt follow suit."

"And this will assure my victory in the upcoming governor race?" the mayor asked.

Eliana closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to hold back a derisive eye roll. "Mr. Mayor," Eliana said after that brief pause, "if everything goes according to plan, you'll have a shot at the presidency in a few years."

The mayor got a hungry look on his face, before turning to the script Eliana had handed him.

My dream shifted. I was back in the ruined Great Room of Gaius's fortress. Glass, wood, and other building materials littered the floor from when Festus destroyed the front wall. Gaius was sitting on the steps that led to the raised back part of the room. Behind him lay the dead body of Nico di Angelo. Hatred, utter despair, and the urge to hurl all battled for dominance. It was probably a good thing I wasn't actually there because I probably would've acted on all three urges at once. A medic kneeled next to Gaius, tending to a series of thick bandages completely covering the left side of his face. On Gaius's other side, Scarlett stood by, holding a tablet in her hands.

"I can't believe she disfigured me," Gaius growled. "Right before my first big address to the public!"

"Should we delay your press release?" Scarlett asked. "We could push it back to tomorrow and still effectively capitalize on the panic and confusion."

"And allow the demigods time to create a response?" Gaius asked. "No, we will proceed as planned and broadcast at noon. I'm thinking edits to the script though. Is there any way you can work my injury into it? Spin it in our favor?"

Scarlett thought about that for a moment. She tapped away at her tablet, then said, "Yes, I believe I have an excellent way to do just that."

Gaius sighed. "I suppose this means I'll have to use a teleprompter after all. I was really hoping to memorize the speech. Oh well, there are worse things. Like finding out that this cut was going to leave a permanent mark. Can you imagine?"

The medic gulped. "Uh… um… actually sir… uh… well, your eye seems to have been spared damage because of your glasses but uh… the cut on your face is very severe. We'll have to perform surgery and give you stitches and uh… even with those and nectar and ambrosia… You'll have a permanent scar all the way up the left side of your face."

Gaius clenched his fists angrily. "You mean to tell me," he said in a low voice, "that you can't do better than that?"

"N-no sir," the medic said. "I'm… I'm sorry sir."

"Fine," Gaius said shortly. "Go get prepped for surgery. Scarlett, get that speech changed. By the time I get out of surgery I want the new copy ready. Now go, both of you!" The medic scampered away. Scarlett nodded to Gaius, then strolled off. Gaius, meanwhile, stood back up, unsheathing his sword. He strode over to Nico's body, standing over him. Then, he let out a guttural roar and raised his sword to strike Nico's corpse again.

I snapped awake, panting, tears coating my face. Matt's hand touched my shoulder again. "Are you okay?" he asked. I couldn't do anything but shake my head. Matt paused for a second and said, "Well uh… just so you know… we're coming in for a landing."

* * *

The sun was rising as we descended on Boldt Castle. The second sunrise in a row that I'd been awake to see, strangely enough. Festus was dropping rapidly towards the sloping lawn of Boldt Castle. Campers were dashing out of the castle and from the surrounding grounds, running down the sloping lawn to meet us.

Festus hit the ground hard, staggering slightly as he landed in what used to be the picnic area. Matt leaped off immediately. The group of campers that had run down to meet us were talking excitedly, whispering things to each other. Confusion, awe, and fear seemed to be the emotions of the morning. Theo pushed his way right to the front of the crowd. "Theo," Matt said quickly, jumping straight to business, "get the Seven and Calypso medical attention immediately."

Theo snapped to attention, leave behind the perplexed look on his face. "Yes sir," Theo said. He motioned to several people in the crowd who came forward to help my family off of Festus's back.

As Uncle Leo climbed off he said to the dragon, "Hold tight boy. I'll be back to feed you soon." Festus nustled him fondly.

I climbed off of Festus's back slowly, exhausted on so many different levels. Right when my feet hit the ground, Devon pushed his way to the front of the crowd of campers. "Where the hell have you been?!" he yelled at Matt. "Mere hours after becoming praetor you disappear?! That is not behavior befitting a praetor! That's treason, you know!"

I was primed and ready to hurt someone right now. I was on the verge of running forward and stabbing the asshole straight through, just like Gaius had done to Nico. But Matt reacted quicker. He ripped his sword from its sheath and pressed it against Devon's throat. A single drop of blood rolled down his neck. Everything went dead quiet. You could almost hear the grass growing.

"I would advise that you shut up," Matt said, his voice soft and flat. He was remarkably calm, which actually made him a lot scarier than if he was shouting. "I've had a really bad night, Devon, and the last thing I need is you accusing me of wrongdoing I did not commit. If you don't shut up and leave me alone, I will bring you to trial as a traitor to the Legion. And you understand that the punishment for treason is death, yes?" Devon couldn't nod or speak because the motion would have caused the tip of Matt's blade to cut open his throat. So he nodded with his hand in what I was pretty sure was the ASL sign for yes. "Good," Matt continued. "In that case, here's what you're going to do: go inform all centurions and cabin counselors that there will be an emergency war council meeting in fifteen minutes. I also want you to make sure all the children of the Seven come. Is that clear?" Devon made his yes sign again.

Matt sheathed his sword swiftly. Devon stumbled back, running away to fulfill Matt's orders. Matt turned to the crowd. "Nothing else to see here, folks! Show's over! Get a move on!"

They scattered faster than pool goers who've just been told someone shit in the pool. Matt turned towards me, sighing. "I'd better go get the other commanders and get ready for the war council meeting. I'll see you in a bit."

I nodded to him. Matt hurried off. Simultaneously, Jocelyn came dashing down the hill towards me. "Elizabeth!" she called. She skidded to a stop a few feet in front of me. She was in her pajamas, clearly having just woken up. Her caramel hair was messy, her hazel eyes concerned. In the early morning light, I was struck with just how beautiful she was. My heart ached. "Did everything go well?" she asked. "Where's Nico?"

I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I just shook my head, holding out my arms for a hug, new tears springing into my eyes. Jocelyn's face fell. She closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Jocelyn and I found ourselves in the Boldt Castle dining room as the war council gathered together. Everyone was in varying states of dress. Some people came in in their full armor, probably having just come off of guard duty. Some people, like Jocelyn, had clearly just been woken up, as they were still in their pajamas. A few people seemed to have rushed to get dressed before they came down. At the head of the table, Matt was speaking with Sierra, Elesa, and Spencer in hushed tones, no doubt relating what had happened last night. All of their faces were very tight.

Augustus came over to Jocelyn and I, fully dressed. "Hey, Elizabeth, what's happening?"

I shook my head. "I – I can't…"

Augustus frowned, concerned. Jocelyn, who I'd partially managed to fill in on the way up, said to him, "She's uh… not doing great right now. Matt will probably go over everything in a moment." Augustus nodded, confused, and settled into place next to Jocelyn. Katherine came in in her pajamas. She smiled weakly, but she could tell by the look on my face that I didn't want to talk. She took a spot silently near us. Across the table, Hannah shuffled in, clearly confused to be brought before the war council. She took a spot with her older sister and Riley Grace. She smiled at me and waved. I tried to manage at least a weak smile, but I couldn't even do that.

Jake filed in on my other side. He was, as usual, covered in soot. He turned to me as he walked in. "Morning Elizabeth. Any idea what this meeting is supposed to be about?"

Before I could say as much as "I don't want to talk about it" Theo appeared next to Jake in medical scrubs. He put his hand on Jake's shoulder. "She's had a long night, hon. Leave her be. Besides, Matt will probably go over everything in just a moment."

Jake looked slightly confused, but he nodded. Theo squeezed inbetween Jake and I. "Are they –" I started.

"They'll all… live," Theo cut me off cryptically. Before I could ask what he meant, Matt pounded his hand on the table to call everyone to order. Theo grabbed my hand and squeezed it briefly.

"Alright, listen up people!" Matt said. "There is a lot to go over and we don't have a whole lot of time. The other commanders and I have agreed that I will be leading this meeting in its entirety. So stay quiet and let me go over everything. Last night, under the guidance of famed demigod Nico di Angelo, Elizabeth and I went on a covert operation to save the Seven and the titaness Calypso from Gaius's stronghold." People around the table exchanged looks. A few scattered whispers broke out. As Matt continued, he raised his voice slightly, quieting everyone again. "When we found them, they were all badly injured, but we did manage to get everyone back here safely. Before I go any further, Theo, do you have any information on how the Seven and Calypso are doing?"

Theo cleared his throat. "Uh, well I don't know everything yet, but I was able to give everyone a quick preliminary examination. What I don't know for certain, I can guess sorta accurately. So uh… going from the least injured to most injured, we've got Calypso and Leo in surprisingly good shape. Both have quite a lot of bruising all over their bodies. Calypso is missing all of her fingernails, Leo has some electrical burns, but they're both already recovering at a remarkable rate. I'd guess that Calypso's recovery is due to her titan blood and Leo's is because of the Physician's Cure he took when he was sixteen. They should both make a full recovery in a week or two.

"Next I'd say is Hazel," Theo continued. "As with Leo and Calypso and everyone else for that matter, she has intensive bruising. Worse than Leo and Calypso's I'd say, though that's probably because of Leo and Calypso's healing abilities. It's fairly likely that she's sustained a moderate concussion during her time in captivity. There also seems to be some internal bleeding and fractured bones. It will take a while for her to heal from all of that, but I'd say she'll be back at one hundred percent by the end of August, beginning of September at the latest, barring any complications."

Theo hesitated slightly, glanced at me, then went on, "Next is probably Annabeth. As with the others, she has severe bruising all over. Definitely worse than Hazel's, though, suggesting that she was… beaten harder. She also has a handful of deep cuts and some moderate internal bleeding. I can't be sure on this part yet, but I suspect one of her kidneys has been damaged. I've got Jasper checking on potential organ damage on all of them right now, so I'll be able to give everyone a better update in a few hours. Uh, three of her ribs are broken and she has a few more fractures." I gaped slightly at Theo. Mom had been in such bad shape and she'd fought anyway? She'd probably made things worse. But even so, she was incredibly badass to pull all of that off. "There's also a recent puncture wound in her right shoulder," Theo continued. "Which I'm assuming she sustained during your escape. She lost quite a bit of blood from that, but she still has enough to function for the time being. Finally, every inch of her skin is covered in spider bites, which won't have any lasting physical impact, but was no doubt used as a form of psychological torture. It will probably take her a very long time to recover from all those wounds. Particularly problematic is the damaged kidney, if I'm right about that. Regardless, she _should_ still make a full recovery, but I don't know how long it will take."

Theo hesitated again. "The others… well, everyone from here on out is looking at permanent physical effects that will likely never heal completely. Uh… first, I suppose, is Piper. Like everyone else, she has severe bruising all over her body. Also, several fractured bones. Multiple deep cuts. She also sustained at least one major concussion and possible another minor one, but all of that she will recover from in time. The big problem is her throat. She has much more intensive bruising around her neck than anywhere else on her body, as well as swelling. She can no longer speak. After my quick examination, I don't know much, but I believe that the demititans permanently damaged her vocal chords. She may never get her voice back at all. If she does, it won't ever be as strong as it once was and extended use may cause her vocal chords to swell and she'd lose her voice again." Down the table from me, Augustus had turned grey. Across from me, Riley almost seemed to stagger. Sierra kept her face calm at the head of the table, but I could tell she felt like hurling.

"Then we have Jason," Theo continued. My heart pounded hard. _Both_ Grace parents had permanent damage? That was rough. The weight of all of Theo's words piled onto my shoulders. All of the Seven had been through so much the last month. "He has bruising and cuts like everyone else. My sense is that he also has internal bleeding, probably worse than the others I've mentioned so far. Furthermore, the demititans wreaked havoc with his back. Many of the discs have popped, so he'll have back trouble for the rest of his life. Nothing super serious there, but he'll definitely have chronic back pain. But the big issue is his lungs. Whatever the demititans did to him permanently damaged his lungs. They literally have less capacity now. The effect is that Jason now has one of the worst cases of asthma I've seen. Frankly I'm surprised that he made it out of Gaius's base without suffering a major asthma attack." Augustus literally fell to his knees, his head in his hands. Riley had tears falling silently down his face. Sierra remained calm looking enough, but thunder crackled loudly outside, shaking the castle. Everyone glanced at her nervously. I felt myself lose what little color I had left in my face. As per Theo's order, the last two people were the worst injured, and one of them was my dad. Across the table from me, Hannah and Emily were both supporting each other, already tearing up, no doubt both for their mother and for their father, the other remaining person who Theo had left to go over.

"Next is Frank," Theo went on. "He had horrible bruising and cuts, too. He also had spikes driven through his arms. The constant pain was likely to prevent him transforming." Hannah burst into tear. Emily looked aghast. "Also, we're looking at a very strong likelihood that many of his internal organs are severely damaged. He's going to need multiple surgeries and transplants to recover, and even then he's going to have a variety of health problems for the rest of his life. I'm already thinking of about six different medications that he's going to need to start taking daily, and I haven't even done my full examination."

Theo paused once again before taking a deep breath and saying, "Percy is in the worst shape. Based on the bruising, the beatings that he received were far worse than anyone else's. Consistent with rage as opposed to strategic and measured torture. He has severe internal bleeding. If my predications are correct, he has major damage to several of his internal organs as well, including both kidneys and his liver. He's sustained several significant concussions during his time in captivity. His jaw is fractured in five different places. He has a total of six broken ribs. He's in a state of extreme dehydration. I've never seen anything like it before. My guess is that the only reason he's alive is because he's the son of Poseidon and can probably go longer without water than a normal person. Even so, his dehydration is very troubling. Worst, though, are his legs. Both femurs have been completely shattered. He'll need major reconstructive surgery on both legs, but even _with_ that _if_ he ever regains the ability to walk, he will almost certainly require the assistance of a cane or crutches."

The weight of Theo's final pronouncement hit everyone hard. All of the Seven were considered great heroes in their own right, but my dad was usually considered the greatest. The fact that he was basically out of commission for the rest of his life was hard. Emily looked like she'd turned to stone across from me. Hannah was still crying. Riley looked green. Augustus was still on his knees, head in his hands. Sierra seemed to be having a harder and harder time holding it together. Out of the window behind her, I could see storm clouds gathering. Ripples of thunder could be heard. I caught Matt's eye. As bad as all of that was, he and I both knew that the worst was still coming.

Before Matt could continue with the meeting, though, Hannah spoke up in a small voice. "Um… Theo? Wh-when can I go see my parents?"

"Not just yet," Theo said softly. "But in a few hours, we can open the med tent up to limited visitation."

Before Hannah could ask a follow up question, Matt interjected, "Unfortunately, there is still a lot more to go over. If anyone has more questions for Theo, it will have to wait until after the meeting is over. And… I hate to break this news, but… during the escape, Nico di Angelo died at the hands of the enemy." Across from me, Emily broke down. She fell to her knees, her face broken. Hannah burst out into heart-wrenching sobs. Augustus punched the table hard with both hands. Tears threatened to overwhelm me again. "I know that losing a hero as great as Nico is… indescribably awful," Matt went on, his voice tight as he held back emotion. "But… there's still more. Gaius… he… found a way to destroy the Mist. It's gone."

Dead silence.

Then everyone started shouting at once. Matt's eye twitched. I heard someone shout "That's not possible!" Someone else yelled "It's all hopeless!" I distinctly heard Helen say "I _knew_ I felt something major happen!"

"Quiet down!" Matt shouted over the cacophony of voices. He looked like he'd been put through Tartarus itself – ragged, exhausted, emotionally drained… and yet, somehow, he was still finding the strength to lead. It was impressive to say the least. Everyone shut up. "There is _a lot_ we have to do. In a few hours, at noon, Gaius is going to send out a live video feed to every screen in the world to try and get the no doubt terrified mortals on his side. After discussing the matter with my fellow commanders, we've decided that without the Mist, it's too dangerous to try and move everyone back to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. Thus, for the foreseeable future, we will be making Boldt Castle our permanent home. We've already been in touch with Chiron. He's evacuating everyone still at Camp Half-Blood and bringing them here, seeing as their smaller numbers will allow them to move cross-country more inconspicuously. Immediately after this meeting, we will be informing the veterans who prepared our launch site of these events so that they can station themselves here, as well. Jake, Amy, since you two led the charge on preparing the castle for our temporary stay, you two are going to be in charge of converting it into a more permanent home. Can you do that?"

Amy and Jake both nodded very seriously. Matt nodded to both of them as well. "I thank you. This island is about to be bursting at the seams with new inhabitants. Also, there's the matter of the nearby towns and villages. If Gaius turns them against us, it could be very tricky for our stay here. So we're going to be sending out teams to try and get the nearby towns on our side _before_ Gaius sends out his message. We'll need some volunteers to lead these operations." Hands shot up all around the room, including Gus's. He looked determined. And angry. Matt nodded. "Alright, all of you stay here after the meeting so we can go over more exact details. Assuming the success of those operations, we will have built ourselves a safe haven in this new, Mistless world. But other demigods and legacies will likely be in danger out there, so as long as we can secure a safe haven here, we'll be putting out the message along all demigod lines of communication to move here.

"That wraps up everything I needed to go over. We will continue to update everyone as time goes on. Unless you are one of the volunteers for the outreach missions, you are dismissed." Before anyone could come over to me to ask more questions, I bolted.

* * *

I spent the next several hours avoiding everyone. I didn't want to talk about what had happened in Gaius's base, I didn't want sympathies for my parents' injuries or for Nico's death, and I definitely didn't want to talk about what was gonna happen with Gaius's big announcement. I just wanted to be left alone. I even brushed off people I liked. Jake, Sierra, Amy, Hannah, Emily, even Matt, who'd gone through everything that had happened in the last twelve hours right alongside me – I gave all of them the slip. I just couldn't deal with anyone right then. I could barely deal with myself. It was my own failures that had led to this whole chain of events. My failure to stop Gaius from getting Pasiphaë's help in the Labyrinth had directly enabled Gaius to cast the very spell that had dissolved the Mist. My failure to see that the raid to capture Marcus was a trap all along had given Gaius the very opening he needed to kidnap my parents in the first place. My failure to move quickly enough and get to Nico on time had caused his death.

Nico. I was still devastated by his death. But I was also mad at him. How could he have kept the prophecy from me? That was important information. I needed to know that if I was going to stop Gaius. But Nico had seen fit to hide that information from me for my whole life in some misguided attempt to protect me. I was so sick and tired of people trying to protect me. Hadn't I proven that I could take care of myself time and time again? _No, you haven't_ , part of me answered. _Remember, you did get yourself killed._ Even so, I felt like I had deserved to know that prophecy after everything I'd been through.

Of course, I felt extremely guilty about this. Despite his faults, Nico had cared for me and my family a lot. Enough to give his own life so that we could escape. How could I be so mad at him? After everything he'd sacrificed, was it really fair of me to be so angry with the son of Hades?

And of course there was Will. If Matt or someone else hadn't already been in contact with him, someone would be soon, no doubt. How could I look Will in the face now? How could I look him in the face every again? I was the reason his husband was dead. They hadn't even had any kids. They'd only had each other. And now Will was alone…

Close to noon, I found myself standing up on the fourth floor balcony again, the midday sun blazing overhead, caught in an endless loop of thinking about my own mistakes and failures and how hopeless everything seemed now. _Not that it hadn't been hopeless before_ , I thought darkly.

"Thought we'd find you up here," came Jocelyn's voice from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder. She and Theo were coming out onto the balcony. They stood on either side of me, leaning on the railing just like me. "Gaius should be doing his broadcast any moment now," Jocelyn said softly.

"I know," I replied, my voice flat.

Theo frowned. "You sound like you've given up. Like we've already lost."

I sighed. "Well… haven't we? The Mist is gone, my family probably won't ever recover, and Gaius… he killed Nico. Plus my one shot at finding out the prophecy about me and Gaius died with Nico! He knew the prophecy! But now… I'm lost. I… I don't know what to do. Plus, you've met Gaius. You've seen how charismatic he can be. He'll be able to get so many mortals on his side. Against odds like that… what chance do we have?"

"We've beaten the odds before," Jocelyn said. "And we'll do it again this time. And anyway… and I'm not saying this to stress you out, but… well, this'll ultimately come down to just you and Gaius, right? So if you win that fight, we win the war. And you _will_ win."

"I'm not so sure," I muttered.

"You will," Theo said. "You'll kick his ass, I'm sure of it."

Before I could say anything else, Theo's and Jocelyn's phones went off at the same time. I could hear the sounds of other people's phone going off all across the grounds of Heart Island. My own phone had been torn apart by Uncle Leo to make the transmitter he called Festus with, so I leaned over Jocelyn's phone as she pulled it out. The screen displayed only the words, "Please hold one moment for a special broadcast."

"Well, here we go," Theo said nervously.

Suddenly the screen lit up, Gaius appearing squarely in the frame. His hair was immaculate. He wore a very nice suit. He would've been handsome if not for the ugly cut on his face, roughly stitched together. I took a modicum of grim satisfaction at being the one responsible for his disfigurement.

"Hello, citizens of the world," Gaius said in his usual confident voice. "You've no doubt noticed many strange things today. Things you've never seen before. And you've probably been scared. I'm here to give you answers. The monsters you've seen, either in person or on the news, are not a new phenomenon. They've always been there. But they've been hidden from you until now. Because the truth is, you've been lied to for your whole lives. For countless generations you've been lied to. For you see, those creatures are from Greek mythology. They aren't just myths. Nor are the gods. I know this may seem hard to believe, but the Greek gods have been manipulating humanity from the shadows for over a thousand years, ever since you stopped believing in them. The gods have robbed you of free will. They control your lives to play out their petty squabbles among one another. The gods and their agents have actively hidden the truth from you to keep you docile. I could not stand to see humanity subjected to the gods' rule. So I decided to do something. I want to give you all your free will back. And want free will of my own, too. When the gods of Olympus caught wind of my plan, they sent one of their agents to try and kill me. The cut you see on my face was a result of that assassin's attack. But I will not be deterred. The gods will not stop me. And if we all work together, we can end their tyrannical reign and give humanity its free will back. The gods will seek to frighten you into submission, but they only have power because of all of us. If we all turn against the gods, we can rob them of their strength. So stand with me. Stand for free will. If we work together, we can achieve true freedom for the first time. Please, follow the link that will show up on your screen to a website where you can learn all about the gods, the monsters, their agents, and how we can work together to stop them. Long live humanity. And long live our revolution!"

The screen went dark, text appearing on the screen with a web address. Before I could read it, Gaius appeared on the screen again. This time he wore a devilish grin rather than the serious look he'd had on his face in the first part of the broadcast. "Hello heroes of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter! This part's only for you. Everyone else in the world still has the web address up on their screen. Before I say anything else, I must congratulate you on your conquest of Boldt Castle! Well done, everyone! Good team work! But your successes stop here. You cannot possibly hope to stop me. So stay out of my way. Otherwise, you may end up like your dearly departed Nico di Angelo." The camera panned away from Gaius to Nico's bloody corpse. Bile shot up my throat, but I managed to hold it in.

The camera returned to Gaius. "And Elizabeth? I believe you and I are one to one now. I cannot wait until our tie breaker match. I am so looking forward to it. For now, though, toodleloo." The screen went black.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, that's it for Elizabeth Jackson and the Veil's Destruction. I'll see you all on Tuesday with a final author's note with final review responses, book 5 teases, and my plan in the interim between books. See you all in a couple of days.**


	23. AN: Heeeeeeeeeey Guys Sorry

So… I feel like I have some explaining to do. I'm not sure where to start exactly but to lead with I'm sorry. I am so so sorry to have been gone for so long and given all of you wonderful people no word on what's been going on with me or my series. Nothing I can do can make up for that. But please know how truly sorry I am. I have let all of you down and I have let myself down. If no one wants to read book 5, then I do not blame you at all.

Yes, book 5 is still going to happen. I have not abandoned Elizabeth's story. So why have I been gone so long? Well this past school year was my final year of college. Though I am still finishing my thesis, I have completed all classwork. I am done with college. Between my class load and working full time, I had no time to work on Elizabeth Jackson. When I did have rare free time, the last thing I wanted to do was write more (my program required a great deal of reading and writing). And I didn't want to give you guys a version of the Elizabeth Jackson story that was just sort of… phoned in. That I just wrote to write, rather than writing it because I truly wanted to. I want to deliver consistently high quality with my stories, I do not feel I could have done that while I was finishing my last year of school.

Now this doesn't explain why I never stepped forward to tell you guys what was taking so long. And there really is no explanation for that other than I got really anxious about it so I just didn't do it. Once again, I am so so so so so sorry, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.

* * *

Now if anyone is still here and wants to hear more about my actual plans for the final book, I will share those now.

So as I said above, book 5 of Elizabeth Jackson is still going to happen. I do not yet have a release date in mind, but I am working on it. I would like to get far enough ahead on this one to upload on a regular schedule again, so it'll take me some time to get to that point. But once I do get far enough ahead that I feel comfortable uploading, I plan on uploading at least one chapter every week. And when I do begin uploading, I will upload both the first and second chapter at the exact same time. More on that a little later. I also want to give you guys a few teasers on what you can expect from book 5. So here are those!

-Elizabeth _will_ discover the prophecy about her and Gaius

-Elizabeth Jackson and Julius Caesar will have the conversation that he told her they'd have someday

-Elizabeth will collect on the favor Dan owes her

-As opposed to the previous books, which all took place in the summer, book 5 will be taking place in the December following book 4 (thus Elizabeth will still be 16)

-Rachel Dare, Reyna, Clarisse, Tyson, Malcolm, and Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis will all finally make appearances in this next book

-The Seven will have a moment of glory

-As said by Hestia way back at the end of Book 1, Elizabeth will return to Olympus

-Book 5 will be titled Elizabeth Jackson and the War on Olympus

* * *

Now, I always do review responses and there are quite a few reviews that I never responded to, so here goes. I will be answering the last batch of reviews that have popped up on book 4 over the last… almost year. The only reviews I will not be responding to are those that are only asking when I'm coming back, as I did that right at the start. (Once again though, I'm really really sorry about my long absence). So here are the review responses.

tomhur18: "Oh man what a cliffhanger. And Hazel and Leo are really the only members of the 7 who have a chance to fully recover...I think I feel the most bad for Piper and Percy. Also the world is gonna be interesting now that everyone knows the truth This is one heck of a set up for Book 5 It's gonna take a lot to get these characters a happy ending"

A: Yeah, I wanted to end things off in a pretty dark place. This book was sort of like my Empire Strikes Back… or my Avengers: Infinity War. There is still a lot to come in the last book, and I'm really looking forward to eventually sharing it with you guys, though I won't say anything else right now because spoilers. But yeah, I wanted to really sort of drive home how dark things have gotten, and I felt like basically incapacitating the Seven was a pretty good way to do that. Sorry to do that to y'all… But fear not, they still have an important role to play! And finally, yes I really wanted to dissolve the Mist, because I think it would be really interesting to explore the fallout of the world discovering the existence of Greek mythology, and this has been one of the things that I've been planning on doing since before I started publishing book 1. So it's gonna be fun to explore in book 5.

CowTits the Udderly Glorious: "The plot thickens... this final book is looking great!"

A: Thanks! I really hope you enjoy it when it does come out!

Wofstin: "Ugh. Why does every really good book an/fanfiction I read end? Why cant they just never end? I feel like the authors are just thinking when they end it, "HAHAHA! I'm going to end and everyone's going to be mad at me! Ha, ha!""

A: Well unfortunately, all things must end. But in the words of the Doctor, "All things begin again, too, and that's always happy. Be happy." But also, there's still one more book coming your way, so it's not over yet.

EllaAnnieGrace: "I like how they put the spin on why Gaius got scarred like his Dad, Luke. And toodleloo!? What the fudge, Gaius! That is So old fashioned.-Victoria"

A: Yeah, I've really been trying to push for sort of a parallel thing between him and Elizabeth and Luke and Percy, and the opportunity to scar him like Luke was just too good to pass up. And yeah, Gaius does have a sort of old-fashioned, taunting streak haha.

PaL14: "This is a Riordan and SJMaas worthy cliffhanger for the end of a book. I saw the parallel to Luke's scar and Gaius. I have nothing else to say except for that I am hanging on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, waiting for the next book. All the best in the writing of the final book of the Elizabeth Jackson series! Peace and Love!"

A: Well thank you so much for such high praise! That means a lot. I hope to share the last book with y'all soon, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as you've enjoyed book 4.

AnamariaJovel: "OH MY GOSH IM JUST A BUNDLE OF NERVES WAITING FOR THE NEXT BOOK."

A: Sorry :'(

RockRoy: "Boom and there we have the final cliffhanger for the novel, can't wait to reread the novels in order to be fully updated for the fifth (and final? ) book which already will be awesome I can feel it :)"

A: Well I hope you enjoyed the reread. I don't yet know how much longer it will be until book 5, but if you wanted to reread again, I think that would be a decent idea… And yes, book 5 will be the last book in the Elizabeth Jackson series. Thank you so much for your preemptive praise. I hope I am able to deliver.

Person: "You are...*sobbing* Percy...Frank...the seven...the end of the world...not even Rick was this depressing and Percy and Annabeth went into Hell! Literally! Elizabeth, I am sobbing too. Right here with you! I felt so bad for Gus, when he broke, I kept saying "I am here for you!" and I started hugging my pillow...yeah...I am a wreck. On a more " happier" note (but really, that is not saying much for this chapter) Matt was awesome! All the way. During the meeting, before it, yeah...you just proven to me why Matt is my favorite character. He is just so amazing. Elizabeth is the emotion, Matt is the reason...though let's face it-Matt can be a giant emotionally pain (check early in this book) and Elizabeth is quite the thinker. Either way, next book better not take a year to complete. I can't wait that long!"

A: I'm sorry to have made you so sad. But fear not, as movie!Dumbledore says, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." And so, as depressing as things seem for Elizabeth and gang now, don't forget that there is always hope! And I'm glad you like Matt so much! He's gone through a lot, but I think it's just proven how strong he is at his core. Finally, sorry about the long wait But it's coming! I promise!

EllaAnnieGrace: "I was just surfing fanfiction when I found this: /XHndLd .It is a link to a contest by several people, but I found it on lunarchroniclesandcockatiels' profile. I think you should enter.-Victoria"

A: Well I feel like the contest is probably over by now… But at any rate, I'm very honored you think my stories are contest worthy!

George Oswald Dannyson: "TOODLELOO! Gaius is an asshole but I love him."

A: Thanks, I'm glad you like him lol. I have fun writing his character. Villains are fun.

Nuada Silverhand: "I want to post a more detailed review, but don't have time. Maybe later. Summary: Good job, please continue!"

A: Thanks!

Wolfstin: "Alright, hold on. So... how old are Jocelyn and Theo? Are they the same age as Elizabeth? I don't think you ever really mentioned their ages, so."

A: Jocelyn is the same age as Elizabeth. Theo is one year older than the two of them.

EllaAnnieGrace: "Did you intentionally reference Hearthstone, when the second gen version of Octavian, that is Devon, used ASL, or was that by accident? Hope you get back to work on this soon.-Victoria"

A: It wasn't really a specific reference to Hearthstone, I just have like… a somewhat working understanding of ASL and I kinda wanted to work in a minor reference to the language. Though I do love Hearthstone!

EllaAnnieGrace: "I LOVE how even most of the demi-titans don't like Drake. I find it quite amusing-Victoria"

A: Yeah, I wanted to make it clear that the demititans, though they're working together, they're not necessarily friends. And I think Drake was a good way to illustrate that.

EllaAnnieGrace: "Please Update soon, I want to read "Elizabeth Jackson and the Battle of Mount Olympus", (My working title). I also have a book suggestion for you. The book is called Eliza and Her Monsters, and it's by Francesca Zappia. You'll likely empathize W/ Eliza quite a bit because, under the pen name Lady Constellation, she's the author of an extremely popular web comic, called Monstrous Sea.-Victoria"

A: Pretty good working title! Very close to the actual title. And cool, I'll have to check it out.

Person: "Oh and you should TOTALLY make a side series for. MATT! He is my spirit animal. JK, he's not! It's a narwhal (which are totally real)."

A: Narwhals are great. And so is Matt. I do have other series ideas that may or may not include Matt in a more prominent role, BUT I don't know whether or not I'll end up writing this other idea. We shall see in time, I suppose.

Kid-of-Percabeth: "I know it was part of it, so that this thing flows more, but describing the images Elizabeth saw of everyone getting tortured... I felt like crying, but unfortunately, I'm in public so I can't let my emotions show"

A: Sorry to put you through emotional trauma in public!

Kid-of-Percabeth: "No... No... YOU KILLED NICO AND THALIA!? HOW COULD YOU! WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!? Okay, I really want to unfavourite and unfollow you but I do like your writing, so now I want to kill myself"

A: Yeah, I'm a jerk. But there unfortunately have to be consequences. Sorry If it makes you feel any better, when I killed off both of them, I actually teared up myself. So I feel the pain, too. Also, please do not do that last thing.

Kid-of-Percabeth: "Okay great... I have tears forming in my eyes from those extremely detailed descriptions of the Seven's injuries (I can't think of a word that could even describe what happened to them). I'm gonna be questions a lot now."

A: Yeah things are dark. As I said in response to another review, this is sort of my Empire Strikes Back or Infinity War. Things have to get darkest right before the finale.

Alright, I think that's it on review responses. Thank you all so much for all of your awesome engagement with this series in its entirety, and a special thank you to everyone who has left a review during my long absence. Your dedication to this series astounds me and I am truly humbled by it. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

* * *

Now before I go, I want to do one last thing to make my long absence up to you. So here's what I am going to do. I am going to give you a tentative draft of the first chapter of book 5. Now keep in mind that this is a draft, and things are subject to change between now and book 5's actual release (whenever that is). But I want to reward everyone for your patience and dedication, and I want to apologize for my long absence and assure you that I am working on book 5. So here it is, Book 5, chapter 1.

* * *

Elizabeth Jackson and the War on Olympus

Chapter 1: I Dreamed a Dream of Time Gone By (Working title? Les Mis reference?)

As so often happens with people like me, the end of the world started with a dream. Funny how that always seems to happen.

At first, I found myself in a dream I'd had before. I found myself standing outside a house on a cliff overlooking a highway. A full moon shone down from the clear sky, illuminating the house and its peculiar yard. It was overgrown with all manner of plant life – trees, shrubs, and grass that was all the way up to my waist. Only the path to the front door of the house remained clear, though unkempt and cracked. Stranger than the overgrown flora, though, were the collection of beanie babies lining the sidewalk like guards. Some were normal animals, but others were from the "Monsters from the Dawn of Time" line – Gorgons, a Minotaur, and a Hydra, among others. They all looked old and decayed, as if they'd been sitting outside this house for decades. The house itself was nice enough – a good-sized, two story colonial. However, the front porch matched the weirdness of the yard with its veritable army of wind chimes.

Worse than any of the weirdness of the house and its yard was the man on the porch. He was a lot younger than he'd been when I'd last seen him, but there was no mistaking the sandy blond hair, the toned, tall figure, and, of course, the bright golden eyes. Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach just looking at him. I wanted to lash out. Strike him. But this was a dream, and I could do nothing to hurt Gaius, as much as I wanted to. The son of Kronos was the reason for all the shitty things that had happened to me and basically everyone I knew since I was thirteen. He'd chopped off my arm, gotten friends of mine killed, kidnapped my parents, murdered Nico di Angelo, and, most recently, he'd destroyed the Mist and turned millions of mortals against the gods and their descendants. Like me.

Of course, I might very well get my wish of hurt Gaius soon enough. Supposedly there was a prophecy about the two of us fighting, but I still had yet to hear it. _Nico_ , I thought, _Why did you hide that from me so long?_

Mere moments before he'd died, I'd discovered that Nico had known the prophecy about me since before I was born. But now he was dead and I still had no idea what the prophecy said…

Of course, the main question that occurred to me was why was I back here? I had dreamed of this place before. I'd dreamed of this exact night way back when I was thirteen. I had thought, following my quest that summer, that the purpose of the dream was to warn me about Gaius. But… why was I dreaming about it again now? I already knew who Gaius was and the threat he posed.

Gaius was standing in front of the house's turquoise front door, facing away from it. Written on the door in both Ancient Greek and English was the name "Castellan." Gaius surveyed the lawn, supposedly uncaring, but he was tensed up. He was clearly nervous. I knew him a lot better now than I had when I'd first seen this dream, and so I recognized now that the nervousness stemmed not from who he was about to meet, but rather whether that person would have the information he'd come for. As I recalled, she didn't.

Gaius took a deep breath, turned, and knocked on the door. He'd barely touched the wood when it swung open. It was hard to make out the person who'd answered the door, as she was backlit, but I could tell she was old. Or at least, she _looked_ old. "Luke!" she cried out happily, enveloping Gaius in a hug, clearly making him uncomfortable, which gave me _some_ satisfaction. It occurred to me that this was the first time Gaius was meeting his grandmother. It was also the last.

May Castellan looked old beyond her years. Her hair was white and whispy. Her face was crisscrossed with canyons of wrinkles. Her limbs were frail and bony. Her clothes were as unkempt as the path to her front door and burned in several places. She smelled like burnt cookies. But oddest of all were her eyes. It seemed like off-putting eyes ran in the family. They were so bright, they were almost glowing, and they looked… fractured.

"Come inside my dear son!" Ms. Castellan said enthusiastically. "I have your lunch ready."

"That really won't be necessary," Gaius replied, and I noticed that the cockiness that was so typical of his voice was absent.

"No, I insist," May said, beckoning Gaius inside. He hesitated. It seemed that he had no desire to enter his father's childhood home. But I knew he would. Gaius was obsessed with getting the information he needed to complete his plan. And he seemed to think that May Castellan held the answer. As I remembered it, she didn't. It wouldn't end well for her. I glanced at the sword dangling from Gaius's waist. It was mortal steel. He'd brought it along specifically for Ms. Castellan. He'd planned on killing her regardless of if she had the information he needed or not. My stomach boiled again. How could Gaius have such blatant disregard for the lives of others? How evil was he?

Gaius followed her inside. The living room was even weirder than the yard. Mirrors and candles were all over the place, assaulting me with images of Gaius and his grandmother. On the mantle sat an old photograph of Luke as a child. Even though Gaius was significantly older than Luke had been when that photo was taken, the resemblance was striking.

"Well, come on dear," Ms. Castellan said, steering Gaius towards the back of the house. "I always told them you'd come back. I always knew." Gaius rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. I got the impression that he was getting annoyed. I vaguely remembered thinking he was scared the first time I'd had this dream. I knew better now.

Ms. Castellan led Gaius to the kitchen, which was unbelievably disgusting. Thousands of Tupperware containers covered every surface – the tables, the countertops, they were even in stacks on the floor, leaving only a narrow path to walk down. Inside each of them was a sandwich, nearly all of them fuzzy and green. The only surface not covered in sandwich boxes was the oven, which was stacked high with innumerable trays holding burnt cookies. The room smelled worse than anything I'd ever encountered, which was saying something since I'd lived in the woods for a month without ever showering this past summer.

Gaius looked a little green, just like the sandwiches in the boxes. "Ma'am," he said, getting Ms. Castellan's attention, "you are Ms. Castellan, correct?"

"Of course, dear," she said, smiling at him. "But I'm just mom, remember?"

That hit a sore spot. I knew now that Gaius's real mother, Erin Cross, had died right before his eyes. Clearly, it was still a sensitive point for him. "You're not my mother," he growled. "I am not your son."

"But of course you are dear," May said, ignorant of Gaius's sudden spike of anger. "You don't need to pretend anymore. I'm safe now. Your father promised me that I was safe now. And that you were too." Now that I knew who she was, I could see more clearly what had happened. After Luke's death, Hermes had come to see May Castellan one more time. He'd lied to her and told her that she and Luke were both safe now to ease May's suffering. There was no saving her mind, but he had at least saved her emotions. It would have been nice if he'd ever visited her again after that…

"You mean Hermes?" Gaius asked. "He's been here?"

"Oh yes," she said fondly. "He checks up on me often." A cloud passed over her face. "He hasn't been in a long time, though."

"You can see through the Mist, right?" Gaius pressed. "That's what attracted the attention of Hermes, wasn't it?"

"Why yes, dear," she said, her absent smile returning. "You remember the story. I was so special they offered me a special job."

"As the Oracle."

"Yes, that's right," she said, remembering. "They offered for me to become the Oracle. That's how good I was! But as you know, dear, it didn't work out. Your father didn't want me to try it. He said that it was far too dangerous. I had to, though! It was my destiny."

"You said it didn't work out," Gaius said. "Could you explain a bit more about that?" Gaius was getting closer to what he came here for, and I felt like I was too. There was a reason I was having this dream again, and this was it.

"Well dear, you know what happened," she said. "It left me with images in my head…" Ms. Castellan trailed off, losing her train of thought. Then she remembered she'd offered to feed Gaius. "Cookies, dear?"

"No, thank you," Gaius said impatiently. "You saw images, you said. Those are images of the future. Can you remember any of them?"

She squinted, trying to remember. "I… I… AHHH!" Her eyes suddenly glowed bright green. Gaius jumped back in surprise, but he seemed excited, expectant. This was the moment of truth. For both of us.

" _My son!_ " she rasped, her voice deep and resonant. " _Must protect my son! Not his fate! Hermes, help! Not his fate!_ "

"Can you see anything else?" Gaius asked. "Anything at all? Something about Alignment?"

The word resonated like a gong. _Alignment_. That's why I was dreaming about this again. Gaius's plan hinged on something called Alignment. But what in Hades was Alignment? I remembered this dream of course, but this particular detail had slipped my mind. Now though, it seemed more important than anything, though I had no clue where to begin to figure out what it meant.

I didn't want to stick around to watch the rest of this play out. I knew how this was going to end – Gaius was going to murder his grandmother. As if sensing my desire, my dream shifted. I found myself on a deserted highway. There had been a massive traffic accident. Cars had piled up, slamming into a tractor trailer that had veered suddenly and blocked all the highway lanes. This was the day I had lost my right arm. It wouldn't be the first time I'd dreamt of this, but weirdly I wasn't where I normally would have been when I got these dreams in the past. I was watching the events play out in third person. There was fourteen year old me, with her long black hair, her grey eyes, and both arms intact. Also a perfectly straight nose that wasn't badly crooked from being broken twice… Younger me stood with a younger Augustus, Jake, and Alex de Marco. Across from the younger version of myself and my friends stood Gaius and his entourage.

"But why?" fourteen year old me asked. "Why are you here?"

"Well it certainly isn't because of him," Gaius laughed, pointing at Alex. "I already got everything I needed out of him. No, I'm all done with him."

"What did you want with Alex in the first place?" Jake asked.

"You haven't told them?" Gaius asked Alex, amused. Alex flinched, which made Gaius laughed. The bastard relished in other people's pain. Once again I felt hatred well up inside me. "I see! Allow me to enlighten you, then. You see, Alex's mother had the Sight. She could see through the Mist, but more than that, she had a bit of the gift of prophecy. Unfortunately, she died years ago. Fortunately for me, Alex heard some of her prophecies."

"The man tortured me," Alex said quietly. "He tortured me until I told him everything I remembered about my mom's prophecies."

"The man?" fourteen year old me asked. I knew now who that was – Drake, one of Gaius lieutenants. The man who had killed Thalia. He was now dead by my and my brother's hands.

"Please, allow me to clear that up," Gaius said. "Alex was being held in Marina's compound, but one of my other compatriots was put in charge of extracting information out of him."

"So you're after a prophecy?" Jake asked.

"But I thought you already knew the one about you and me?" the younger version of myself asked. "Or were you just talking big last summer?"

"Oh no, I know the prophecy about us," Gaius assured younger me. "No, I'm after a different prophecy. See, my plan relies on two prophecies: the one about us and another one. One that's gone from the records. A missing prophecy, if you will. I have good reason to believe that this particular was told centuries ago, but the content is so dangerous to the gods that they've done their best to eradicate every copy of it. I have only come across the smallest fragments of the prophecy. I need the whole thing. But the thing about prophecies is that you can't avoid them, and you can't hide them forever. The prophecy I'm after is bound to resurface."

 _Alignment_. That _had_ to be what he was talking about. But the question still remained: what was Alignment and why was it important?

"So you've been tracking down people with the gift of prophecy in the hopes that one of them knows the information you need?" younger Elizabeth said.

"Precisely," Gaius answered. "Unfortunately, Alex's mother didn't speak of the prophecy I need around him. But Alex was able to provide us with the location and key to a safe deposit box, in which there is a book where his mother kept notes on all the prophetic glimpses she had."

That was it! That must've been how Gaius solved his Alignment question, surely. But the question still remained – what in the name of Poseidon's sweaty underpants was Alignment? My dream shifted again.

I found myself in the lobby of a bank, walking alongside Gaius. He strode right up to the person at the desk and handed over a key. "Uh, hi," he said, putting on a fake hesitant voice. "This is for my mom's old safe deposit box. She… died a few years ago and I went to live with my aunt and uncle in New York. We just found this is some of her old stuff, and I wanted to see what she'd left in the bow. I have my ID if that uh… helps at all." The voice was very convincing, as was the fake ID Gaius pulled out which named him as Alex de Marco. This must've happened not too long after our fight on the highway. The gears in my head turned quickly. Gaius moved quickly. This must've been when he discovered what Alignment was. Would this be when I found out, too? I burned with curiosity, and with something more. I _needed_ to know. All my senses told me that I needed this information if I wanted to stand any sort of chance against Gaius.

The receptionist examined the key and fake ID. Apparently they were to her satisfaction, because she said, "Everything seems to be in order, dear. Follow me."

She brought Gaius into a back room with all the locked safe deposit boxes. She undid the latch on the correct one, pulled it down, then set it on the table in the center of the room. "I'll give you a minute. Come out whenever you're ready and we can close your mother's account," she said kindly.

"Great, thank you so much," Gaius said. Despite myself, I had to be impressed by his acting ability. He played the part of the surprised, grieving child so well. He'd even made his voice crack.

As soon as the woman was gone, though, Gaius was all business. He popped open the lid of the box and pulled out its contents. A few nick-knacks, Alex's and his sister Vanessa's birth certificates, and a notebook. He smiled devilishly. "Excellent," he murmured to himself. He flipped through the pages, glancing at drawings, fragments of various prophecies, and even full-length prophecies. I noticed one that looked suspiciously like my very first prophecy. "My oh my, the things you saw, Ms. De Marco," Gaius muttered under his breath. Finally he came upon a page with a full length prophecy next to a drawing showing a bunch of constellations. I only saw the title of the prophecy before Gaius snapped the book shut. _Alignment_. That was it. That was what Gaius had been after. And he'd gotten it. But what was Alignment? I felt like I was going to explode with curiosity.

My dream shifted yet again. All the dream changes were starting to give me whiplash. This next part had happened much more recently, as evidenced by the scar on the left side of Gaius's face – a souvenir of the last time he and I had met face to face. He was walking down one of the halls in his fortress with Scarlett, a very attractive woman with tomato red hair who happened to be one of the newest members of Gaius's command council. "Eliana's flight will be landing in an hour," she informed him.

"Excellent," Gaius said. "And everything went well in Chicago?" Chicago. I felt unease creep up my neck. If our intel was right, Chicago was the most dangerous place in the world for a descendant of the gods. The mayor, who based on this dream and other dreams I'd had, was working for Gaius, had pushed through a number of laws that took away all the rights of people like us and made being descended from the gods a crime punishable by instant imprisonment without trial or attorney. How could they get away with that? Well, no one was stopping the mayor or his newly militarized police force. The revelation that the Greek gods were real had thrown everything into chaos, and the Federal government had absolutely no idea how to respond. City and state level governments were essentially on their own, which meant that Chicago could do whatever it wanted, including becoming an anti-god police state.

"Yes, sir," Scarlett said. "The Chicago Police Department has been fully outfitted with demigod catching gear."

Gaius nodded. "Excellent. And the mortal volunteers? How is their training going? Will they be ready in time for the winter solstice?"

"Er… that's probably a better question for Ivan," she said. "But as far as I know, yes, they should be ready in time. But sir, why are you so adamant about striking on the solstice?"

Gaius smiled. "Alignment," he said by way of reply.

Infuriatingly, my dream shifted again. I wanted to scream. Why could I not know what the hell Alignment was? What did it do? Why was it important? I at least knew that it would happen at the solstice – less than a month away – but I knew nothing else. That did me know good. It was maddening.

The next part of my dream dropped me into a large cavern with three teenagers. I felt a jolt shoot up my spine and tears well in my dream-form's eyes when I recognized one of them as a young Nico. He was so so young. Younger than me, probably. And more importantly, he was alive. I wanted to reach out and hug him. Hell, I would have been satisfied to simply touch him. But I couldn't. I looked more closely at the other two teens and I realized with a couple more jolts that I recognized them as well. One of them had long brown hair in a swell braid, dark eyes, a muscular frame, and a purple praetor cape. Reyna. The other had frizzy red hair, green eyes, and paint splattered jeans. Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Rachel was on the ground, panting, as if she'd just done something strenuous. "What _was_ that?" Reyna asked her, clearly concerned.

Rachel, who was still trying to catch her breath, did not answer. Instead, Nico stepped in. "A prophecy," he said. "It would appear that our quest was a success. Rachel has her powers back. And I would guess that that was the next great prophecy."

"The daughter of two heroes great," Reyna muttered. "Who could that be?" I felt a rush of anticipation. That _had_ to mean me. They'd just heard the prophecy about me and Gaius. Nico had known it ever since then. But apparently, he wasn't the only one who did. Nico may have died, but Reyna and Rachel…

Rachel clambered to her feet. "Whoever it refers to hasn't been born yet," she said. "I can see that much. But beyond that… nothing."

"Well, we'll have to tell everyone when we get back," Reyna said. "There's a new great prophecy. Everyone needs to know."

"No," Nico said, quietly but firmly.

Rachel and Reyna looked at the son of Hades like he'd grown two heads. "What do you mean 'no'?" Rachel asked.

"We shouldn't tell everyone," Nico said. "Look, it's only been a year since we beat Gaea. Everyone is still recovering from that, trying to come to terms with everything that's happened. Why worry the others with something that won't happen for years? Besides which, the prophecy will come true whether people know it or not, right?"

"Yes, technically," Rachel said hesitantly. "But it's still important for the subject to know what it says eventually. Knowing the prophecy can help them figure out what to do."

"Which usually just winds up biting them in the ass," Nico pointed out. "Or did you think that Oedipus had a happy ending?"

"Nico –"

"Look, I'm just trying to save our friends from unnecessary pain," he said.

"We can't hide this forever," Rachel informed him. "Prophecies have a tendency of resurfacing when you try to hide them like this."

"I understand that," Nico said. "But just… for now. Please. Can't we just let everyone enjoy the peacetime?"

Rachel and Reyna shared a look and finally nodded. "Alright, Nico," Reyna said. "For now, we'll keep it between the three of us."

My dream shifted yet again. As the images of Nico, Rachel, and Reyna faded from view I felt a strange mix of emotions. I felt sadness because Nico was gone, and he was never coming back. I felt anger that he, Rachel, and Reyna had kept this hidden for so long. How could he have done that to me? And I felt guilt because Nico was gone. How could I justify being anger at someone who had given their life to protect me and my family?

As my dream rematerialized I found myself in a circular chamber. Rather than walls, there were pillars, beyond which I could see outside to a beautiful city on a mountaintop. I'd seen the city before – it was Olympus. The ceiling above me was a dome. Purple banners hung from the pillars with golden letters reading SPQR. In the center of the room was someone I'd met before, back when my friends and I had journeyed into the Labyrinth. He had grey hair, which was receding from his forehead, sharp facial features, and regal robes. Around his head was a golden laurel. He radiated power in the way only a god could, but he looked at me with the understanding only someone who was mortal at one point could ever have.

"Caesar," I said, surprised.

Julius Caesar smiled at me. "Hello, Elizabeth," he said. "I told you back in the Labyrinth that we would speak again."

I blinked. I remembered the conversation. But… "But we've had complete radio silence from all the gods since July," I said sharply. "Ever since the Mist dissolved."

"Jupiter – or Zeus to you, I suppose – has shut down Olympus," Caesar said. "He believes that the best course of action given the present circumstances is to shut down Olympus with all the gods trapped inside. There are those of us, however, who believe this is the wrong course of action. I decided I had to do something about it. As I have told you before, I do what needs to be done."

"And contacting me is what needs to be done?" I asked skeptically.

Caesar nodded. "The end of the war with the son of Kronos is fast approaching. Yet you still lack the vital information you need to truly play your part and counter him. That's why I showed you these dreams – to give you hints, nudge you in the right direction."

I felt my eye twitch. "Or, you know, here's a novel effing concept – you could just tell me what I need to know and spare me this riddle bullshit." Perhaps not the most polite or smartest thing to say to a god, but I was pissed. I was so sick and tired of _never_ getting a straight answer.

"I am sorry Elizabeth," Caesar said, paying my rudeness no attention, "but there are laws I cannot break, as much as I would like to. All I can do is guide you in the right direction. What you have to work with is what I have just showed you…. And one additional hint. Alignment is a very ancient magical phenomenon. Now, do you know anyone with access to that sort of knowledge?"

Immediately Emily Zhang jumped to my mind, but though she was talented and possessed a great deal of raw power, I wasn't sure how much actual background knowledge of "ancient magical phenomenon" she knew. I did know someone else, though, who might be able to help. "Alright," I said slowly, still thinking. "And then the prophecy about me specifically. I don't suppose you can tell me what it says?"

"No," Caesar said regretfully. "But I believe you now know who can."

I frowned. Reyna was missing, so unless she turned up soon she wasn't exactly an option. Which just left Rachel. And unless something had changed recently, Rachel was in the last place on Earth I wanted to be right now. I sighed. Saving the world was becoming more complicated by the second. Nevertheless, the path before me was starting to come into focus.

"There is one more thing," Caesar said. "The demigods will need a leader."

"Well there's the command council," I said. "They're good leaders."

"No, _a_ leader," Caesar repeated. "The command council are certainly capable, but the things that are about to happen… it'll require the speed an efficiency that only come with a single commander."

I sighed. "You're talking about me, aren't you?" I asked, resigned.

"Yes," Caesar said. "Take command like I did. It is the only way you'll win."

"Like you did?" I repeated incredulously. "No offense, but I don't want to get stabbed twenty-seven times by my friends."

"You either die a hero, Elizabeth, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain," Caesar said sagely.

I blinked. "Did… did you just quote _The Dark Knight_?"

"My point is," Caesar went on hurriedly, "the gods are in peril. The _world_ is in peril. Some _one_ has to take charge, and that someone has to be you. Otherwise, Gaius _will_ win."

I sighed again. I did not like the idea of being in charge of everyone. I'd led small teams before, sure, but I had no desire to lead the entire demigod force. That was nearly four hundred people for crying out loud! More if you counted the over two hundred older demigods who had fled to Boldt Castle and the surrounding area after the Mist dissolved. But on the other hand, if the world was going to end unless I took charge, what choice did I really have? "Alright," I said resignedly. "I'll… I'll do what needs to be done."

Caesar smiled grimly. "Good. Now, you'd best get started. Good luck, Elizabeth Jackson."

I sat bolt upright in my Boldt Castle bunk.

* * *

So that's the rough draft of chapter 1. Hopefully that serves the purpose of tiding you over until I'm finally ready to properly release book 5. I hope you enjoyed it! But yeah, that's the reason why I'll be uploading two chapter on the day the book finally actually premieres – because you've already seen one chapter, even if it is in a rough form.

At any rate, like I said, I hope you enjoyed this little sneak preview of what's to come. I'm not sure when you can expect the next book to finally premiere, but rest assured it is coming. But anyway, with that I'm going to say goodbye for now, but I promise there will be more to come. Hope you're all doing very well!

-bfalt1


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